Sublounge in the press

SFWeekly picks sublounge for "Best Burning Man-Esque Bar" in Best of Bay 2004
Sublounge makes SFWeekly's Best of the Bay 2nd yar running w/ editorial pick for "Best Burning Man-Esque Bar"

Maybe it's Sublounge's location, in the midst of Dogpatch's darkened warehouses and unclaimed condos, that gives the nightclub that Burning Man feel. There's an oasis vibe at work, as if this were the only civilization for miles. At the same time, that splendid isolation lends an outlaw attitude to the venue -- you just know John Law isn't going to be busting in on you anytime soon. And unlike at the Odeon Bar, the freaks don't wear their freakiness like royal finery, as if you're supposed to kiss their asses just because they hold pool cues with their sphincters. Sublounge is a dance bar, first and foremost, as befits a space run by members of revered Burning Man dance camps the Space Cowboys and Space Lounge. There's a cool variety of house, hip hop, and breaks nights, including the ridiculously bumping "Bikini Wax" monthly. Just like Burning Man these days, Sublounge plays host to a bizarre mix of costumed loonies, button-down meatheads, aging tweakers, slumming yuppies, and dedicated booty-bumpers. Lighting men on fire, however, is strictly forbidden."

SF Bay Guardian readers vote sublounge "Best Dance Music Club" July 2003
sublounge wins "Best Dance Music Club" in prestigious Bay Guardian annual Best of the Bay readers poll.
"Sublounge may be targeted at a slightly older and more local crowd than the slowly fading candy-raver spots are, but it's the favorite of club-hopping connoisseurs who enjoy progressive house, or just love that old-school funk."
http://www.bestofthebay.com/2003/r_ent.html

SFWeekly Best of Poll, May 2003
sublounge sweeps SFWeekly Best of San Francisco Poll
Best Bar
Best DJ Bar
Best New Club
http://www.sfweekly.com/bestof/index.html

Mixer Magazine, State of Dance, January 2003
...Many of course blame the economy for the scene's current ills..."The economy is fucked," says Adam Aronson, co-owner of San Francisco's sublounge and co-founder of the DJ collective SpaceLounge. "The entertainment industry out here has collapsed. The little clubs with no cover are surviving, but the big clubs are hurting." Aronson may have a point, as paying $50 to step foot inside a superclub was simply not an option for many people who still found themselves out of work in 2002...
http://www.mixermag.com

CitySearch editorial review, December, 2002
Airplane seats and gaming consoles help usher in a new lounge culture at this way-cool watering hole.
The Scene.
Seems like every new drinking establishment is calling itself a lounge these days, but Sublounge is reinventing the formula. You won't find the standard leather couches and hipper-than-thou attitude. Instead, folks kick back in authentic airplane seats and get rowdy on PlayStation 2. Add space-age light sculptures and turntables, and you've got a cross between a Burning Man camp and a rave chill room for adults.
The Draw
Sublounge may seem out of the way, but its neighborhood is on the rise. With a new college campus and MUNI rail line being developed in the area, Sublounge is located in the middle of an up-and-coming bar scene.
http://bayarea.citysearch.com/profile/35671675/

Nitevibe.com, Weekly Pix, November 5, 2002
The Cowboys have set up house in the new Sublounge. I have head some claim this lounge as a nice pit-stop on route to Sno Drift. Not so! The wise man said... with a growing lineup of great DJ's this little venue is worth the cab fare all on it's own. (JM)
http://nitevibe.com/buzz/nitevibe_buzz54.htm

SFweekly, The Mix, October 9, 2002
...Tom's right, as evidenced by a trip back to 20th Street to the month- old Sub Lounge . Frank and Jesse, from the Sea Star, stroll in and join a few dozen hipsters come to get their groove on to thumping house music and lounge in cushy airplane seats. According to Kevin, the new owner, a downstairs level will open soon, but even with one level the place has a certain vibe . The bar glows, and the lighting is deliciously dim and sultry. Welcome to Dogpatch's hot new scene.
"Now's when it's good, man, when it's small," says Erin, shaking her leather-clad heinie to the beat.
"We've had some parties in here that have just been insane," says resident DJ Smoove. "All signs are pointing toward go." ...
http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2002-10-09/mix.html/1/index.html

SFGate, No New Dot-com Job, June 25, 2002
...Ex-product designer Adam Aronson and Kevin Ellis, a former director of wireless Internet security, went through a similar chain of thought when they decided to open their fledgling club, sublounge, in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.
"I was sort of plodding around, trying half-heartedly to find a job with a startup," says Aronson, "when I started talking with Kevin one night, and we started asking each other what we really wanted to do. The answer, it turned out for both of us, was that we wanted to open a bar."
Though Aronson is a little shy about revealing the financial details of opening sublounge, he explains that a typical bar in S.F. sells for anywhere from about $100,000 to $250,000, depending on location and amenities. That price includes a liquor license and all the furniture and fixtures within the bar. Bar owners generally also pay a monthly lease of about $2 per square foot of space, plus operating expenses and a permit fee for evening entertainment of $1,000 a year. Aronson and Ellis pulled together their own savings, sold stocks and took private loans from friends to pay for their new space.
"There are a lot of bars in town," adds Ellis, "but we wanted a bar that was really dedicated to DJ culture and music, one meant for a slightly older and more local crowd than the kiddy-raver spots with the out-of-towners."
Different people, different businesses -- but a thread of similarity runs through them. No longer are these entrepreneurs thinking about how they can shape their skills to fit the job market. Instead, they're thinking about how they can shape the job market to suit their own needs, desires and interests...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fgate%2Farchive%2F2002%2F06%2F25%2Fpostrush.DTL