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When a movie comes out, you go see it because of the hype, and then walk away thinking, ‘Oh, that was horrible!’ That doesn’t happen if you’ve never heard about it.īW: Exactly.
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If people like it, word of mouth will get the message out. So I’d rather have an insider-y VIP party, where I know the people - friends, family, people who will give me honest criticisms.
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I always go in and open up a place and try not to build a lot of hub-bub, because there’s always going to be kinks and things you didn’t think about. We’ve been doing this for a long time - 20 years, next year. By comparison, Rosewood’s opening was pretty low-key … That’s intentional?īW: That’s our thing. GP: It’s kind of funny that Rosewood and ICandy’s “ The Pub” both opened around the same time, but ICandy made quite the spectacle of the opening, rolling out a red carpet and every drag queen in town. It’s the place where you go for a quality cocktail that takes a little longer to make - made to perfection. It’s more of the 9 to 12 place where you sit to sip on a cocktail. GP: How has business been going since it opened?īW: It’s going great! On the weekends, we’ve got a bit of overflow - people are enjoying the different environment from Woody’s. And the “rose” part, it’s because all of the wood in the bar is rosewood. And where did the name come from?īW: For starters, the “wood” half plays on the name of Woody’s. It’s still Woody’s bar, but it has a different name because of the cocktail aspect of it. GP: Do you see this as an extension of Woody’s, or its own thing?īW: It’s an extension of Woody’s. … And so far, it’s all worked out really well. A retail store next door was closing, and their lease was up, so we decided we would break through and have that extra street access. GP: How long had you been planning Rosewood?īW: Since around January. With this corridor now, in Midtown Village, the whole thing is developing into a mixed crowd - I think that’s a good thing. But the great thing is, once they realize Woody’s is over there, they’ll walk over and love how much fun it is on that side.
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So I think Rosewood is more straight guys, and more straight couples. Fair?īW: Yeah, I’d say Rosewood is 60 or 70 percent gay, whereas with Woody’s you’ll get straight women, but rarely a straight guy. GP: The word on the street is that Rosewood is the straight version of Woody’s, only with better cocktails. And I’d also say we get a little more straight people at Rosewood . I’d say that sometimes, because we’re right across from the Holiday Inn, we might get some business people who come in and don’t realize that’s part of Woody’s. GP: Is there a big difference between the clientele of the two?īW: I don’t think so. But here, we have $400 scotch and $200 bourbon. With Woody’s, it’s more of the “vodka-cranberry” experience. We have more than 80 whiskies, bourbons, scotches, and other high-end drinks that you don’t get at Woody’s. We wanted to create a Woody’s alternative - a place to grab a cocktail. What’s the distinction between Woody’s and the new lounge?īilly Weiss: Well, with Rosewood you have the 13th Street entrance, which gives us more exposure to walking traffic. G Philly: Let’s talk for a bit about Rosewood. My conversation with the straighter half of the Weiss guys: