Club 2001 opens its doors

by Jay Boehmer
For The Post

It's time to get down, get down. With the opening of Club 2001, 31 1/2 N. Court St., students and residents will have another chance to do just that.

In the alley between World's Best Bagels, 31 N. Court St., and The Court Street Bakery, 27 N. Court St., the club is here; but, the dancers are lacking. It might be because the hardest thing to find about this place is the location.

"So far business has been slow," said Andre Barton, owner and operator of Club 2001. "Once the word gets out it will catch on."

Club 2001 celebrated its opening the weekend of Jan. 4 with DJ Boogie and MC Bobby the Boogieman.

"I had a good time dancing," said junior Tana Zeller, who attended the opening. "The music was great."

Club 2001 now is open from 10:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., Thursday through Saturday, and also offers private bookings on other days of the week.

2001 is the brainchild of 26-year-old Athens resident Barton, who built the club from the roots up by investing a great deal of his own time and money.

"I designed everything in here: the sound system, the interior, the lights," he said.

And what a design it is - high ceilings, brick walls and plenty of room to dance. These things are unnoticeable when the club is in full swing as smoke from the fog machine fills the room and colorful patterns of lights dance to the beat of the bass-heavy music. A stage constructed right next to the DJ booth encourages dancers to step on up and show their stuff.

The club sells a variety of Coca-Cola products, but no alcoholic beverages are allowed on the premises.

"Right now this (soda) is what we're serving, but in the near future we'll add a juicer and an ice machine to make fresh juices."

Fresh juice and dance music? This could be the most interesting combination in Athens since burritos and buggies.

Court Street offers a high number of bars and clubs to drinkers and people over 21, but 2001 is the first club that specifically caters to non-drinkers and underage patrons.

"It's nice to have a place Uptown where we can go to dance and have a good time without worrying about being shut out because of our age," said Colleen Hater, an 18-year-old freshman.

DJ Boogie is the house DJ and travels from Columbus every week to spin for the dancers, Thursday through Saturday. The club welcomes anyone 18 and up and charges no cover before midnight. The fee is $3 after midnight. Look out this Saturday for a "Hot Body" contest.