It was a total success! It’ll be interesting to do a final competition for gaming like that once I get the venue completed. We used to do a competition for the game, “Call of Duty,” and other gaming tournaments. ThatDrop: With such a massive LED setup, will barCode NJ have any nights or events tailored to gamers?Įddy G.: Back when we first opened, remember we used to be a sports bar, as well. That’s like being at the Cowboys Stadium in I’ll have a 75-foot-wide by 25-foot-high LED screen. I, myself, I engineered my venue to transform from a concert hall to a nightclub. A lot of those places, they hire contractors to transform the space. ![]() Most of the other venues are concert venues or nightclubs, but at any given moment, if you want to have a fashion show, for example, you cannot transform your venue to have an amazing runway for a fashion show, and then at the same time have it convert to a concert venue. The rooftop can hold 2,000 people on the roof, so at one time, you can have a total 7,000-person occupancy. ThatDrop: Can you talk about some of the more extravagant elements you’re building at barCode NJ?Įddy G.: We’re building a venue where the occupancy is 5,000 people. ![]() “You can’t take anything with you, at the end of the night.” The only thing you can take with you is the experience. You can’t take anything with you, at the end of the night. You can have it with the sound and production, but you also need to build an ambiance. People in nightlife want to feel tight and that there’s a vibe going on. If you’re having an event with 1,000 people, it will feel lively and full. Everything in my place is designed to size to whatever type of event. Most clubs, you’re either a nightclub or a dayclub, but not both things in one. ThatDrop: How does barCode compare or contrast with entertainment complexes like Resorts World, Borgata, The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and other multi-use venues nearby?Įddy G.: What makes me different from everyone else is, I have a swimming pool. The only other venues that could hold a good amount of occupancy, back in the day, were Webster Hall or Exit. We can have more production than the average venue. We’re retrofitting the roof to be a retractable roof. Phase-2 is now going to be the part of the back that’s the much bigger space with a 3,000-person capacity, and that’s going to be the concert space.Įddy G.: That part’s fully enclosed, but the swimming pool will have a retractable roof. Now, we’re building phase-2, which has a major soundstage for much bigger artists. BarCode opened-up in 2015, we purchased the property, then phase-1 with the swimming pool was opened. I closed CocoBongo in 2015 that’s when I converted it into barCode. In 2001, I opened CocoBongo and it lasted until 2015. Then I bought the building from him within three years, I converted the space from a furniture store to CocoBongo club, a club which lasted for 20 years. The guy who sold me the building owned a furniture store and he leased the building to me. What we’re using now is a portion of that original 75,000-square-foot footprint. I realized that people didn’t want to go back inside. ThatDrop: Talk about how you built the original barCode space…Įddy G.: When I opened the first barCode space, we had a patio in the back…we basically made a building out of truss. I’m literally building it for this purpose. Unless you’re going to a warehouse, they’re not going to have the ceiling height that we have. Other clubs, the average venue has about between 15 and 20-foot high. ThatDrop: What are your ceilings heights, actually?Įddy G.: Our ceiling height is 35-foot high. When you give people a good experience and good music, it goes hand-in-hand. Nowadays, you’ve gotta give more for the money. A lot of people don’t invest their efforts into doing that. You can appreciate not only the sound, but the whole experience, visually. That’s one thing we offer that the average venue doesn’t. ![]() It’s the mood, the production, the lighting. When you go to barCode, I’ve taken into consideration what moves the big electronic festivals. (real name, Edwin Gomez): We definitely did think outside-the-box. ThatDrop: For dance music-lovers who’ve not yet been to your venue, barCode NJ, what’s special about it?Įddy G. The day and nightclub that is building toward a 7,000 person capacity with feature a pool, rooftop, tier-1 sound system and… Well let’s allow the 20-year club owner and electronic music tastemaker, Edwin Gomez walk us through how he is making Elizabeth, NJ a raver’s destination. ![]() Eddy G is bringing the aspects of a warehouse rave and festival atmosphere to downtown New Jersey through his new paradise project, upgrading barCode.
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