As I observed in my first visit to this place, the people behind it spend a lot of money making this place what it is.  I knew they would have to bring in a lot of business to pay for all of it.

Two problems I observed from the beginning:

1) Image.  The Coliseum is a great place for adults and kids alike.  I have heard from many dads how they enjoy being able to take the kids on a early evening or Saturday afternoon, enjoy a beer or two, and watch the football game.  It’s definitely a relaxed family environment.

However, this family environment hurts them come late night.  Adults who want to enjoy drinks after 9pm must do so alongside young teenagers.  Add to the fact they have some silly rules about drinks in the gaming area.  (not to mention none of the games have cup holders like they do at similar places like Dave and Busters) Because of the mixed age crowd, adults have to wear a plastic bracelet to drink where there are underage persons.  Also, they don’t allow glass outside of the bar area.  People over 25 do not like to drink out of plastic cups!  One night, I was with a group of people and the staff made my friend pour her $10 martini into a plastic cup when she walked out onto the gaming floor!  This is one sure-fire way to turn away business from the people who have money to spend on entertainment.  Is this a kid friendly place or an adult playground?

2) Food.  It all comes back to the food.  From the beginning, The Coliseum tried to be “upscale” with their menu offerings.  They boasted “World-class food” and fine wine while dining at their main restaurant.  Guess what?  The food never surpassed that of local chain restaurants.  “Upscale” doesn’t mix with a casual dining atmosphere, sports bars, and video games.  “Upscale” only means you want to charge more for less.  The Coliseum won’t get people to stay all night if their food and menu does not improve.  People need value right now for a meal out.

I really do hope this place survives because it truly is a one of a kind place on the West Shore.  There was always no doubt this was a very ambitious project from the start and they need to sell a lot game cards and $2 drafts to pay for all the overhead and staff that comes with it.  I hope this Chapter 11 process forces The Coliseum to look outside the economic issues and makes them look deep inside at some of the problems they face internally.  Let’s hope the changes don’t come too late.

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Before my visit to Sam Bucca’s, I started out my evening at Scott’s Grille with a group of people for after-work drinks.  Scott’s has been around for a long time and used to be a great “pre-game” spot before going to the Vault nightclub (yeah, that’s a long time).  The bar and deck area outside Scott’s is always popular for happy hour.  While their menu has ranged from good to average over the years, it has remained consistent enough to continue attracting patrons night after night.

Later, the party changed direction and we ended up down the street at Bourbon Street Saloon.  While sipping my $2 Blue Moon draft, I remembered this space from a while back…

A Bit of History

Bourbon Street Saloon originally was home to Dewey’s Dry Dock in the late 1990s.  After Dewey’s closed, the owners sold it and it became 5:01 Downtown - a small, but clean bar/nightclub/seafood restaurant that was one of the first before the big 2nd Street explosion.  A lower level held a small dance floor to fill the void after the Vault had closed in 2001.  5:01 was also one of the first places downtown to institute a dress code at night similar to Level 2. They tried to keep it classy and keep the riffraff out.

Once the Vault was remodeled into the Hardware Bar/Eclipse there was no need for a second dance floor on the same street so they changed gears and tried comedy shows and poker tournaments in the basement. When that formula was no longer working, it  changed and became Bourbon Street Station before going with the “Saloon” theme.  The kitchen from 5:01 was removed to make room for the beer pong tables. Now that beer sales, not food, is the focus, this could be one of the few bars that will allow smoking after the ban next month, but that’s another story.

A block away, Max’s was the first shiny new restaurant to take up space at the newly constructed office tower known as Market Square Plaza in 2005.  Right off the main crossroads of downtown, this Italian restaurant had high hopes and was in a prime location.  Only problem was the food didn’t live up to the expectations of this urban centerpiece.

When Max’s started to lose money, they rebranded it Carmella’s Trattoria, another Italian restaurant.  At the time we already had a few good places to get Italian style food downtown anyway, so why change a good thing?  Fast forward a few months and they stopped serving lunch because of the slow crowds.  With the number of business people downtown every weekday, a simple lunch in a clean restaurant should be a no brainer (especially with several floors of government employees right above you).

Nope, it couldn’t survive much longer, time to call in the “cleaner” for help…

From Stylish Restaurant to Gritty Sports Pub

So what did Carmella’s do?  They brought in DowntownAfterDark to perform their standard gut and paint job we’ve seen before at places like Mars, Tom Sawyer, and the Hardware Bar.  The high backed restaurant booths were moved to the ceiling-high glass walls which overlook the sidewalk. The view of Market Square is now completely blocked from the rest of the restaurant. The original space from the booths made room for a bocce court (ok, original, I’ll give them that), but the rest was filled with old coin-op pool tables, some old retro arcade games, and more flat screens. Someone commented it looked more like an 80s-style roller skating rink than a “pizza pub”.

This is your typical warehouse-style sports bar created to attract people before they turn the corner for the Gingerbread Man or Kokomos now open on Market St. The decor showcases every popular Italian mob movie ever made.  The main dining area is pushed to the back and covered with hideous tablecloths.  With the small menu I don’t think food is the focus here anymore. This could be a possible attempt to remain exempt from the smoking ban.

I don’t recommend anyone waste their time in this place except to witness a great downtown space ruined once again.

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Recently a note had appeared on their official site about an opening in the Fall of 2008.  Sue even reiterated the opening date and mentioned it would be part of the Harrisburg Mall’s new “streetscape” area.

We have confirmed the project has been scrapped.

According to Ben Kitay, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sega Entertainment USA, “We opened in Tucson last month and our location there is doing extremely well.  We were looking forward to opening in Harrisburg, but the owner of the mall, Feldman Properties has not fulfilled its obligations to us, and we have dissolved our relationship there.”

Feldman Mall Properties was unavailable for comment, but the Tuscon Foothills Mall, the site of the first Sega Sports Grill, is also owned by Feldman.  Main anchor store, Boscov’s, is also closing in October of 2008 at the Harrisburg Mall.

Kitay continued, “Harrisburg is a great market for us, and we will continue looking for a suitable location there.”

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• Carmella’s Trattoria (formerly Max’s) next to the Hilton has reopened as Sam Bucca’s Pizza Pub.  One review already here.
• Mangia Qui is opening a restauarant in Midtown called Sip.  They will be part of the new Midtown Arts Center.
• High 5 Burgers will be replacing Javid’s Indian Grill (formerly Skewers) on 2nd Street.
• Sara announced new menus at the Blue Bistro and Nonna’s.
• It looks like a seasonal ice cream shop on 2nd Street will soon become a coffee shop.

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Either way, here are a few stories we’ve been keeping an eye on…

• Harrisburg Restaurants Get Ready For Smoking Ban - yeah just as suspected, some restaurants are considering dropping their percentage of food business under 20% just so they can keep attracting smokers and maintain their alcohol revenue.  We will be keen to note where to order a Zima, not emphysema when going out.
• Arooga’s opening in Camp Hill.  Yeah, we called it a few months ago, but heard it should be opening soon.
• Carmella’s closed? Saw this coming a few months ago when I heard they stopped serving lunch.  Another Italian restaurant??  Sara says she has the scoop in her column next week.
• Working on some additional upgrades to DineOutHarrisburg.com hopefully to be launched this fall.  While you pinch your pennies during this economic recession, choose your restaurants carefully.

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According to the law there are several exemptions being made:

They include bars that have 20 percent or less in annual sales of food, as well as cigar bars, tobacco shops and private clubs whose officers agree to it.

Casinos would be permitted to allow smoking in up to 50 percent of their gaming halls — though Philadelphia’s law prohibits its two casinos from allowing any smoking, and the legislation passed today will not change that.

Also excluded under the proposed statewide ban: private homes and other residences and vehicles — unless they are being used for child-care services — and long-term care facilities, as well as residential facilities used for drug and alcohol rehabilitation and mental-health services.

So what does this all mean for 2nd Street for example?

• Will nightclubs which do not serve food such as Eclipse, Hardware Bar, and Dragonfly go non-smoking on their own will, or will they still cater to the smokers?
• Will these nightclubs install indoor smoking rooms like Level 2 did when they opened?
• How will smoking and non-smoking bars and restaurants be labeled? Will there be a big sticker on the front door that lets patrons know what is allowed inside? (In California, they post warning plaques like the Surgeon’s General warning on a pack of cigarettes)
• Will walking down 2nd Street be worse than going inside a smoking establishment because of all the smokers kicked to the sidewalk to get their fix? Will smoking be permitted outside within the realm of alfresco dining?
• What about restaurants that serve food, but can claim less than 20% of annual sales? What will that say about their food quality?
• How about restaurants that can claim around 25-30% of their food sales? Will they try to curb their fledgling dining business in hopes to attract more smokers and cash in on more alcohol sales?

Lots of questions still wait to be answered, but we’ll have to wait until September 12, 2008 until the law goes into effect.

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Who’s got boxes?

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I snapped this photo from my iPhone one evening last December just before we were getting ready to party along 2nd Street. You can find it inside Palumbo’s, but as noted along the top of the frame it is “not for sale”.

This is also the 100th post of the “new” HarrisburgNightlife.com as it changed over to the new blog-style format. Thanks again for all your readership over the years!

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As reported by Sue, it sounds like Dorado on the Camp Hill bypass on the West Shore is in the process of being sold and has closed for the time being. I have heard it may be the same owners as Kokomos on Route 22. My guess is Dorados will be called Aroogas as this is the new name of the former Kokomos on 22.

It’s also being reported on the PennLive Forums that the New Market Bistro is closed. The owners are from the former Cafe on Market in Camp Hill. One person writes “I read that the rent was astronomical and Holy Spirit is trying to push everyone out of that area.” Both Dorado and New Market Bistro claimed to be upscale dining establishments and were located on opposite sides of the Camp Hill Bypass.

It’s sad to see either of these places close, but it could be a sign the economy is catching up with everyone.

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Harrisburg’s newest ultra lounge, Level 2, has opened above Cafe Fresco along 2nd Street. HarrisburgNightlife was able to get a preview during their private opening on Thursday. The “industrialist” Nick Laus spared no expense remodeling the space above his very successful restaurant. The place is gorgeous. This was not a “let’s throw some paint on the walls and we have a new nightclub” remodel job.

Level 2 is like taking a trip to Manhattan, Vegas, or San Fran. It was done right. From the espresso hardwood floors, to the cubist tables and ottomans, to the three waterfalls, the dj booth, and the glass enclosed smoking section, this is by far the nicest bar in Harrisburg. Average local folk might find it to be a little pretentious, but If you’ve been to some nicer clubs outside this beautiful city of ours, Level 2 will be a welcome treat.

The well talked about bottle service prices didn’t seem that outrageous compared to larger cities’. Prices start out around $130 for liquor and $80 for champagne. For those looking for Grey Goose or Patron, expect to spend over 2 bills. Import beers were no more than $5 and they plan to have an extensive tapas menu to compliment the signature drinks. Of course they will be utilizing the fine kitchen of Cafe Fresco for all their edibles. Call ahead for table reservations.

Level 2 plans to have “the best service and atmosphere [downtown]” said owner Laus. If there were any optimism to these plans, I would say they were ahead of the times by about 5 years for Harrisburg (which is usually the case for anything new, cool, or hip to hit this town). This is by far one of the most luxurious night spots to come along in the last several years.

For more details, I urge you to check out Sara Bozich’s column from a few weeks ago on Pennlive.com. She has the scoop on all the juicy details for Level 2. Don’t forget to click on the photos above for a look inside.

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