We all complain about having to wait in line to get past the velvet rope, especially when you know the club’s totally empty and that the doorman is just making people wait so it looks like there's a buzz outside. But aside from being annoying, waiting outside might not be safe.
The recent car-bomb incidents that have recently taken place outside London clubs have LAPD Chief William J. Branton on alert; L.A. might not be a target, but because Hollywood has the highest number of nightclubs in the country, there's reason for caution.
So are club owners going to change how they operate? Nope!
I asked James Sinclair, who owns Element, and he's not worried about the threats. "If we change the way we operate –outside of being more aware of our surrounding and more diligent– then we give the terrorists what they want," he says. "We're in the safest area in the city. There are cameras and security guards everywhere."
Tricia LaBelle, who heads up The Hollywood Hospitality & Nightclub Owner's Association and also owns Boardner's, concurs. "We have so many other survival issues facing our industry at present time in Hollywood that adding another possible issue on top of the list at this point, I personally don't think scares anyone," she says. "As far as a car pulling up and blowing up in front of a venue, it certainly can happen and there isn't much anyone can do to prevent it."
Hollywood club promoter Jason Lavitt also agrees. "There are undercover police on the street each night."
In fact, every club operator I spoke to felt the same way, and that’s a relief.
