Steve Lewis
Former nightclub operator/impresario Steve Lewis is the godfather of the nightlife industry. Steve operated such famed locations as the Palladium, Life, The World, Limelight, Tunnel, Club USA, Palace de Beaute’, Red Zone and many more before turning to design. He thinks like an operator. With his vast experience he implicitly knows where bars go, how large they must be, how servers move, how bars are supplied and the relationships between standing room and seating. Flow is his forte. He understands from personal experience that every dollar spent on a build-out must be earned back.
Good Room was voted:
Butter his first attempt at creating a restaurant earned him the award for Best New Restaurant Design from Time Out Magazine.
Steve’s design approach is simple; he designs the place for his client would want don’t design for the personal press or a photo op. A quick look through these images will show the versatility of his designs. He believes that you can’t tell he did a job without being told it was him. It is paramount that he designs within the client’s budget and time frame. They have as much money and time as they have and that’s what he has to work with. Although he has performed with larger-budgeted projects many of his jobs cost less than $100 per square foot and he is as proud of those as he is of the more expensively built spaces. He believes throwing money at a build-out is not necessary and that creativity, honesty and responsibility come with his job. Delivering "wow" on time and at cost is the goal.
In addition to a flourishing design career, Lewis has been an avid writer with his own snarky take on all things nightlife. Featuring rants and raves, general ramblings, interviews and color, Good Night Mr Lewis was voted best nightlife blog of 2008 by the Village Voice. In 2009 Lewis took his loyal following over to Blackbook Magazine, serving as their nightlife correspondent. He was the contributing nightlife editor for industry staple Nightclub&Bar Magazine starting in 2012 discussing and analyzing hospitality trends with the best in the business. Recently he was writing for the online magazine VinePair. He is considered an industry expert and takes his scientific approach to every job. He believes in the time tested standard “the fundamental things apply as time goes by”, yet understands that trends, regulations and technology profoundly influence those basics.
He designs restaurants, clubs, bars, lounges, retail spaces, sports bars, comedy clubs and a tanning salon. He designed the offices of Club Planet and Plugout, a security firm. He designed the interiors of BB Phuket, a boutique hotel in Thailand. He has had many residential projects.
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