Frontline Design - Modern Line Furniture
Frontline Design - Modern Line Furniture
Frontline Design - Modern Line Furniture
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<strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong><br />
Modular <strong>Furniture</strong> for the <strong>Modern</strong> Nightclub<br />
CREATING SPACE I Spring 2012
Furnished Ideas<br />
Modular Miracles<br />
and <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Design</strong><br />
As the Editor of Bar Business<br />
Magazine, I may be the boss when it<br />
comes to the content that hits our<br />
pages each issue. But really, there’s only<br />
one Boss, and you can find him just<br />
below me on this page, lounging like a<br />
rock star on one of <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
<strong>Furniture</strong>'s featured collections. When<br />
your product is worthy of Springsteen,<br />
you know you’ve done good.<br />
This image of The Boss, courtesy of<br />
a bar owner in Bruce’s hometown of<br />
Asbury Park, New Jersey, is quite<br />
fitting. Springsteen has always been a<br />
champion of the American hometown<br />
hero, especially those who come from<br />
BY Chris Ytuarte<br />
Editor-in-Chief<br />
Bar Business Magazine<br />
his Garden State, who fight their way<br />
off of dead-end streets to make<br />
something of themselves. And here he<br />
sits, on a modular sectional from<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>, a company with<br />
its roots deep in New Jersey, but its<br />
influence spreading throughout the<br />
nation.<br />
I travel the country to keep in touch<br />
with what is going on in this industry.<br />
As the only print publication<br />
that truly covers all aspects of<br />
the nightlife profession—from<br />
spirits to security, design to<br />
décor, management to money<br />
matters, technology to<br />
training—we watch it all.<br />
Of course, one of the most<br />
important topics we cover in<br />
nearly every issue of Bar<br />
Business falls under the umbrella<br />
of design and décor: lighting,<br />
layout, ergonomics,<br />
functionality, flow, and of<br />
course, furnishings. Beyond the<br />
Boss, the fact is, your furniture<br />
is a vital component to creating<br />
the best possible club<br />
environment for success. And<br />
the miracle of modular<br />
furniture is that it can help you<br />
do just that, at an economical<br />
advantage in comparison to<br />
custom builds.<br />
With this publication, we<br />
examine the aspects that make<br />
great modular furnishings<br />
work: aesthetics, comfort,<br />
versatility, and efficiency. Each<br />
component can be fulfilled by<br />
the products and the team at <strong>Modern</strong><br />
<strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>. You can create a truly<br />
dynamic environment with the<br />
furniture and the fantastic people<br />
available at <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>.<br />
But don’t just take my word for it.<br />
<strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong><br />
Spring 2012<br />
Published by <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
1296 Lawrence Street<br />
Rahway, NJ 07065<br />
Phone: (800) 637-5596<br />
Fax: (732) 381-1716<br />
Sales Department:<br />
sales @modernlinefurniture.com<br />
<strong>Design</strong> Department:<br />
design@moderlinefurniture.com<br />
General Information:<br />
info@modernlinefurniture.com<br />
CEO, Vlad Spivak:<br />
vlad@mmodernlinefurniture.com<br />
MODERN LINE SHOWROOMS:<br />
NEW JERSEY DESIGN CENTER<br />
Mon - Sat, 10am - 5pm EST<br />
1296 Lawrence Street<br />
Rahway, NJ 07065<br />
FLORIDA<br />
Trade Only Showroom<br />
Dania Beach, Florida<br />
(800) 637-5596<br />
NEVADA<br />
Trade Only Showroom<br />
Las Vegas, Nevada<br />
(800) 637-5596<br />
PUERTO RICO<br />
Trade Only Showroom<br />
San Juan, Puerto Rico<br />
(800) 637-5596<br />
editorial<br />
Chris Ytuarte<br />
Editor-in-Chief, Bar Business Magazine<br />
212-620-7223; fax: 212-633-1863<br />
cytuarte@sbpub.com<br />
Sara Kay<br />
Assistant Editor, Bar Business Magazine<br />
212-620-7220; fax: 212-633-1863<br />
skay@sbpub.com<br />
art<br />
Corporate Art Director<br />
Wendy Williams<br />
wwilliams@sbpub.com<br />
production<br />
Corporate Production Director<br />
Mary Conyers<br />
mconyers@sbpub.com<br />
ON THE COVER:<br />
Opera Ultra Lounge, Winnipeg, Canada<br />
Model 9049 featured<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Spring 2012 | <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> 3
CONTENTS<br />
SPRING<br />
2012<br />
<strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong><br />
6<br />
The Art<br />
of Aesthetic<br />
The look of your club makes a quick<br />
first impression, so be sure to furnish<br />
for the ambience you want to create.<br />
8<br />
Finding the<br />
comfort zone<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> has to look good and<br />
function well; providing maximum<br />
comfort for customers is a key factor.<br />
10<br />
Redesign,<br />
not replace<br />
Modular furniture can<br />
help bar owners recreate<br />
their space without the<br />
expense of replacing every<br />
item on the floor.<br />
12 14<br />
Are you in<br />
The<br />
or out?<br />
Top FIVE<br />
Maintaining a similar<br />
We look at the Top Five<br />
vibe between indoor<br />
hottest trends in<br />
and outdoor space can<br />
on-premise furnishing<br />
be a smooth transition<br />
with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
with modular products.<br />
designer Josh Lucas.<br />
4 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com
ART OF AESTHETICS:<br />
Using Modular<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong><br />
to Create a Mood<br />
No <strong>Furniture</strong>, No Feel<br />
Even if you’re serving drinks, an empty room<br />
does not make a club; then again, neither does<br />
unattractive furniture. Remember to aim for an<br />
aesthetic and then furnish accordingly.<br />
By Chris Ytuarte<br />
Your bar is who you are. Customers who come through the door<br />
are immediately exposed to your attitude toward nightlife, and they will<br />
make a decision about your environment within minutes of experiencing<br />
the ambience. Unfortunately, this judgment comes before they ever taste a<br />
drink, ever meet a server, or ever hit the dance floor. They will base this first<br />
impression on one thing: what does your furnishing look like.<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Spring 2012 | | VIP <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Modern</strong>e Magazine <strong>Design</strong> 5
Your furniture, separate from your wall art, paint<br />
scheme, lighting, etc., truly dictates the mood,<br />
ambience, and experience that customers will<br />
consciously and subconsciously walk away with, and<br />
that will guide their actions while on-premise.<br />
“Your furniture helps create a mood because it<br />
looks great, and then customers respect it,” says Jack<br />
Moslehi, owner of Opera Ultra Lounge in Winnipeg,<br />
Canada.<br />
“It’s not like walking into some dive where you just<br />
see garbage furnishings and right away you know<br />
how you’re going to act in that venue. You’re going<br />
to act like garbage because you’re surrounded by<br />
garbage furnishings. Whereas with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>,<br />
the furnishings have this kind of posh feel and look<br />
to them. So when you walk in and sit on them you<br />
kind of feel posh, and you act the part.” Moslehi<br />
acknowledges that <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> has<br />
truly enabled him to create an ambience at Opera<br />
that he was seeking, and that differentiates him<br />
from his competition. Describing the venue as “half<br />
“After my first experience<br />
with them, I’m taking <strong>Modern</strong><br />
<strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> product and<br />
putting it in a second venue<br />
that I’m opening.”<br />
Platform Lounge,<br />
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel Scranton, PA.<br />
Model Tiara Banquet & Model Chica<br />
nightclub, half lounge,” the venue is whitewashed, with a regal,<br />
classic approach to it’s furnished aesthetic. A capacity crowd<br />
of 388 max enjoys massive chandeliers, dramatic lighting, and<br />
a old-world charm. “Mix that in with some contemporary<br />
furnishings, which is where <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> comes in, and you<br />
have a dynamic look,” says Moslehi. “<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> definitely<br />
added the contemporary element with their furnishings.”<br />
The blended aesthetic of Opera is a vital element in its<br />
successful attempt to attract and entertain a clientele of<br />
mixed ages and interests. With patrons ranging from 18 to 45<br />
years of age (remember, the Canadian drinking age is 18),<br />
Moslehi incorporates various genres of music on their three<br />
nights of business to keep the crowds happy: 80s and 90s on<br />
Friday nights, Top 40 on Saturdays, and hip-hop and Latin on<br />
Sundays. With such an eclectic customer base, the aesthetic<br />
and ambience need to be somewhat universal, and <strong>Modern</strong><br />
<strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> has helped the club balance its approach to<br />
maintaining a contemporary look with the over-the-top décor.<br />
“We opened Opera in December, and we’re expanding to add<br />
more furnishings inside, and we’re taking the club element out<br />
to make it a total lounge,” says Moslehi. “So that will be phase<br />
two. Phase three is they’re laying out another club I have that<br />
has actually been running for three years, but there are two<br />
areas that are being expanded. And those two areas are where<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> is going to come in and work their magic.”<br />
6 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com
EVE Ultra Lounge, Staten Island, NY.<br />
Model 9050 featured.<br />
Without appealing, engaging<br />
furniture, you’re leaving a<br />
customer’s first impression up<br />
to interpretation based on other<br />
aspects less in your control.<br />
Back in the U.S., in the Garden State of New Jersey, Mark<br />
Jakuboski owns a unique venue known as Baca Sports<br />
Lounge, which Jakuboski himself describes as, “basically a<br />
sports bar built for women.” Now how does one design an<br />
aesthetic for that?<br />
“It’s sexy, it’s sleek, it’s got TV’s and fireplaces, and it’s got<br />
all <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>,” explains Jakuboski. “It’s kind of<br />
industrial, and has some brick designs, concrete and hardwood<br />
floors. It’s a place that women feel very comfortable going to,<br />
and the men follow. Most women don’t like going to a sports<br />
bar, but guys love to go. So we’ve created a place that’s kind of<br />
sleek and sexy, very cool. The guys come and watch the games<br />
and they can get any kind of bar food they want, and the<br />
women love it there because the atmosphere is great.”<br />
Jakuboski has successfully created an aesthetic for both the<br />
avid sports fan and the women who love them, and love sports.<br />
Not an easy accomplishment. And he did so by melding the<br />
ambience of a modern lounge or club with the ruggedness and<br />
social component of a great sports bar—best of both worlds.<br />
Vital to this approach was furniture that met both visions with<br />
one style of design, from <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>.<br />
“Using their furniture, we’ve created a lot of little areas and<br />
nooks within the bar itself, by using different pieces,” says<br />
Jakuboski. “The highback chairs we’ll put face-to-face with a<br />
serving ottoman between them along the windows, creating<br />
a little private area. In a corner we’ll take three of the lounge<br />
chairs and make some space. And in the center of the room<br />
near the bar we’ll take their curved, round chairs and some<br />
tables and set up little four-tops, in diamond patterns, and<br />
have maybe six of those sets.<br />
“Then we created what we call “The Pit” using some of the<br />
curvy furniture. We have a projection screen TV, and we take<br />
the curvy furniture and create a nice big oval shaped seating<br />
section around the screen, and it fits probably about 20<br />
people. And we put one of their coffee tables with the pull-out<br />
ottomans in the middle so they can pull them out and relax.”<br />
Appealing to both the men who gather in groups to watch<br />
the big game, and the women who seek a sleek aesthetic, the<br />
furniture at Baca Sports Lounge creates an ambience that<br />
allows for two very different crowds to successfully mingle on<br />
gameday, and any other night, especially considering the locale<br />
and the local competition.<br />
“This furniture and the mood it creates is what makes us<br />
different here,” says Jakuboski. “We’re in Asbury Park, which is<br />
full of bars, and we’re the only bar of this kind down here.<br />
Without versatile, appealing, and optically engaging furniture,<br />
you’re leaving that first impression up to interpretation<br />
and based on other aspects that may be more out of your<br />
control. <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> is ready to help you make<br />
that aesthetic experience something customers will be talking<br />
about.<br />
“I get feedback all the time from customers about the<br />
furniture,” says Moslehi. “This is why I’m getting so deep in<br />
with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>. They’re awesome.” FL<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Spring 2012 | <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> 7
COMFORT ZONE:<br />
The Importance of Making Customers Comfortable<br />
Which One Would You Pick?<br />
Beyond aesthetics and ambience, furniture at its core has to be functional, and by that we mean<br />
proper support and comfort for your customers, and even your employees. We look at ways to<br />
achieve both on-premise.<br />
By Frances Pisano, MS OSHE<br />
CEO and Chief Ergonomist at Pisano & Associates, LLC<br />
In many parts of the world, the corner tavern, bar, taproom,<br />
saloon, pub or nightclub is the place to be on a Friday<br />
night. The work week has come to a close and it’s time to<br />
catch-up with friends, hoist a few, have some fun.<br />
When bellying up to the bar to order that next round, or<br />
settling into a highback chair at a local lounge, take a look at<br />
the design and layout of the space. Bar design is iconic and<br />
time-tested. Centuries of learning have gone into the placement<br />
of pub elements, and at the center of the design rationale is the<br />
comfort of the patron not the employee.<br />
Ergonomics is the science of designing an environment to<br />
address and fit human needs; while it is more often applied in a<br />
work environment (ergo means work in Latin), in the case of a<br />
bar environment, obviously the comfort of the patron has taken<br />
precedence over the safety and comfort of the employee.<br />
“Our customers are so comfortable, they feel like they’re in<br />
their own living room—just with 300 people around you,” says<br />
Mark Jakuboski, owner of Baca Sports Lounge in Asbury Park,<br />
New Jersey. “And yet you don’t feel crowded. When you sit in<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>’s modular products, you create these<br />
little spaces, even if it’s in the center of the room, and you still<br />
feel like you have your own space within a space. It creates just<br />
the right amount of privacy. It’s kind of like you own that space<br />
for an hour or two, yet you have the people flowing around you<br />
nicely. If you took the <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> furniture out and threw a<br />
bunch of random tables and chairs in there, it wouldn’t be the<br />
same place at all. The furniture makes it.”<br />
For example, why do you think that the height of the bar is 42<br />
inches? That height is the most ergonomic for a top that services<br />
both the seated and standing user. Seated in a 29″ to 31″<br />
barstool, a 42″ bar counter is the best height for the seated bar<br />
patron. It is also a comfortable height for most people to lean<br />
against. Additionally the bar top is in easy reach of a standing<br />
person so they can set their food and drink down without<br />
leaning over. Take a look at the footrest at the base of the bar.<br />
Not just a decorative element, this footrest permits the standing<br />
patron to alter their stance and posture from time to time while<br />
standing at the bar for long periods of time. An old Ergonomics<br />
adage “the best position, is the NEXT position”; this footrest<br />
provides standing customers with a multitude of options over<br />
time. This means you can STAY and imbibe longer, more<br />
comfortably. Really has nothing to do with the employee.<br />
8 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com
“Customers have to be comfortable,” says Jack Moslehi, owner<br />
of Opera Ultra Lounge in Winnipeg, Canada. “<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
furniture is well made and it looks great, but it’s also cool that<br />
you can use the modular furniture to cater to any crowd and<br />
space that you want to attract. Prior to working with <strong>Modern</strong><br />
<strong>Line</strong>, we always used custom stuff, but with these guys I just<br />
basically sent them my idea and gave them a floor map, and<br />
Josh [Lucas] at <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>—he is just a genius. He took my<br />
floor space and the notion of what I was looking for and he laid<br />
out this amazing plan on a CAD program. And they gave me<br />
options for the flow and for what pieces to use, and it worked<br />
out great. They 100% take into account what type of flow you<br />
want for your customers.”<br />
On the other hand, I am sure that you all have had the<br />
experience of sitting at a bar where the molding on the edge is<br />
so wide and bulky that you practically have to stand up on the<br />
rungs of the stool to reach your plate. Another uncomfortable<br />
piece of furniture can be the bar stool. I am 5’7” tall and<br />
was sitting on a bar stool just last week where my feet could<br />
not reach the cross bar on the stool so as my feet dangled<br />
uncomfortably the backs of my legs became numb from the<br />
pressure of the sharp edge of the stool’s seat. I then stood up to<br />
alleviate this discomfort and when I attempted to put my foot<br />
on the footrest (the bar that typically runs along the base of the<br />
bar near the floor) there wasn’t one. The possibility for me to<br />
find comfort suddenly became out of the question. So, although<br />
the comfort of the patron is considered more often than the<br />
comfort of the employee, one can see that there remains much<br />
room for improvement.<br />
“The great thing about <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> is that they’ll set up your<br />
floorplan layout, and if you look at it and bring people in and<br />
at first it’s just not working, you can reconfigure it to maximize<br />
comfort,” says Jakuboski. “Because everything looks really great<br />
on paper, but our place is kind of small—about 2,500 square<br />
feet—and when you put 300 people in there along with your<br />
furniture, it may take on a new life. This piece may not work<br />
there, and that piece may not work here. But you can very easily<br />
take all of the pieces and shuffle them<br />
into something that does work. You can<br />
take a centerpiece that was designed to be<br />
12 feet long, pull one section out, and use<br />
it as a nine-foot centerpiece. Then you<br />
take that three-foot section you removed<br />
and place it somewhere else. That’s one<br />
of the best parts about this furniture.”<br />
Here are some of the tasks that lead to these disorders:<br />
• chopping food while slouched over<br />
• washing glasses while bending<br />
• extreme and repetitive reaching overhead for bottles<br />
• extreme and repetitive reaching and bending when serving the<br />
customer across the bar<br />
• hoisting heavy loads on trays<br />
• repetitive opening of twist cap bottles and the manual removal<br />
of wine corks<br />
• repetitive bending to access bottles and ice in coolers<br />
• standing on hard services for long hours resulting in lower<br />
back strain<br />
“Our customers are so comfortable,<br />
they feel like they’re in their own<br />
living room, with 300 people.”<br />
Despite these health hazards, 90% of workers do not have<br />
health insurance, meaning many decide against treating such<br />
injuries. The lack of reporting of these injuries leads to more<br />
serious and chronic conditions, less job satisfaction, higher<br />
absenteeism, poor customer service, and higher medical costs<br />
in the long run. The bottom line is that both sides of the bar<br />
need established design criteria that take human capabilities<br />
and limitations into consideration. There is no question many<br />
improvements can be made with regards to the comfort and<br />
safety of BOTH the employee and the patron.<br />
Frances Pisano, MS OSHE is CEO and chief ergonomist at Pisano<br />
& Associates, LLC, an occupational safety and health consulting<br />
firm headquartered in Pawtucket, R.I. Combining experience,<br />
technical expertise and comprehensive capabilities, Pisano &<br />
Associates collaborates with clients to help them rationalize their<br />
approach to ergonomics through workplace risk assessment, re-design<br />
and implementation. For more information, Frances can be reached<br />
at fpisano@pisanoassociates.com or by phone at 401-529-8398.<br />
BLOG @ http://ergonomicedge.wordpress.com.<br />
As for the employee, industry specific<br />
injury and illness statistics are proof of<br />
the risk factors that they are exposed<br />
to. Employee risk factors in the bar<br />
environment are numerous, and<br />
these risk factors that may lead to<br />
musculoskeletal disorders of the neck,<br />
shoulders, back, forearms/elbows,<br />
wrists, knees and feet, are widespread<br />
and are all driven by a poorly designed<br />
work environments and tools.<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Baca Sports Lounge, Asbury Park, NJ.<br />
Model Coco featured.<br />
Spring 2012 | <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> 9
REDESIGN WITHOUT<br />
REPLACING:<br />
Interchangeable <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
Can Keep Costs Down<br />
During a Redesign<br />
Platform Lounge,<br />
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel Scranton, PA.<br />
Model Tiara Banquet featured.<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> That Fits<br />
Like puzzle pieces that can be shuffled<br />
around to create an entirely new final<br />
image, great modular furniture offers<br />
club owners not only initial aesthetic<br />
and comfort, but options for redesigning<br />
their venue daily, monthly, or annually,<br />
at a fraction of the cost. Win-win.<br />
By Sara Kay<br />
Most clubs won’t go through a redesign until it<br />
becomes a last resort. If business is flagging, the competition<br />
is gaining, and the new guy around the corner has become<br />
the “it” spot, an owner may finally concede that a change of<br />
scenery has become necessary. Often, the expense of such an<br />
overhaul may not be worth the investment, as the price tag for<br />
all new furniture can be daunting.<br />
Likewise, many venues on a daily work weekly basis find the<br />
need to reconfigure their furniture’s layout in order to best<br />
accommodate the clientele. Large groups one night needing<br />
communal seating; a run on couples coming in for date night<br />
who want their private nook; stragglers who show up as addons<br />
to parties of either size—the ability to shuffle the deck can<br />
afford a smart club owner the chance to service a wider swath<br />
of social gatherings, and increase business.<br />
So how can both examples above—one a large-scale redesign<br />
that occurs every few years, the other a quick reconfiguration<br />
required every other night— be satisfied by a singular approach<br />
to furnishings? Modular components from <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
<strong>Furniture</strong>, of course.<br />
“This is my first go-around with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>, and I just<br />
opened the club up in December, so we haven’t needed to<br />
reshuffle the layout just yet,” says Jack Moslehi, owner of Opera<br />
Ultra Lounge in Winnipeg, Canada. “But there is 100% truth<br />
to the notion that we could change the entire scope of the place<br />
just by moving our existing pieces around. The fact is, this<br />
furniture is modular, so it can fit into the tightest spaces or fill<br />
the biggest area you have.”<br />
Being a newbie on the Winnipeg nightlife scene does not<br />
exempt Opera from having to expect a necessary change at<br />
some point in the future, and likely a major revamping of the<br />
design and décor in order to stay fresh. And Moslehi, for one,<br />
looks forward to avoiding the usual reason club owners feel<br />
faint when facing a redesign: the cost.<br />
“Having <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s modular products heavily affects not<br />
only our bottom line for the cost of a redesign, but also our<br />
willingness to even undertake such a thing,” says Moslehi.<br />
“When you’re furnishing any space of that magnitude and<br />
trying to facilitate that many people, it usually means going<br />
the old way and buying new custom stuff. You’re basically<br />
starting back at scratch. You’re taking on a $50,000 furniture<br />
bill. Whereas with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s modular stuff, you may buy a<br />
few new minor pieces, but really you’re just moving the puzzle<br />
pieces around.”<br />
10 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com
Short of reshaping an entire venue, some club owners<br />
undoubtedly need to reshape their seating to accommodate<br />
their customers, who show up in all shapes and sizes, and in<br />
varying numbers. At Baca Sports Lounge in Asbury Park,<br />
New Jersey, owner Mark Jakuboski welcomes fans in to watch<br />
the big games, with wives in tow, and sometimes sends the<br />
furniture into a swinging dance, moving pieces of his modular<br />
furnishings from <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> anywhere its<br />
needs, in any form.<br />
“We shift the furniture around all the time,”<br />
says Jakuboski. “It has a basic pattern, but we<br />
move it around and reconfigure it all the<br />
time. For example, for the recent Giants<br />
playoff games and the Super Bowl, which<br />
drew big crowds, we moved stuff around and<br />
created little spaces for groups to come in. The<br />
thing I like about <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>, it’s very easy to just<br />
move it yourself, even on the fly. If you have a group<br />
in and a few stragglers join them later, you can just shove<br />
an ottoman over or take a piece and sliding it over. It’s all<br />
interchangeable and easy to work with. Even if we have to add<br />
more pieces to “The Pit” in front of the projection TV, it’s not a<br />
big deal. Grab a piece and move it in, and you can make a new<br />
configuration within minutes.<br />
Carmen’s Wine Bar,<br />
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel<br />
Scranton, PA.<br />
Model Coco and Model ST002 Chair featured.<br />
“Modular furniture offers motivation to make<br />
changes to your venue. If you know you won’t<br />
be up against a huge furniture bill to buy all<br />
new product, you’re more likely to give it a try.”<br />
“You can take everything out, put it back in, and get a whole<br />
different look. And it didn’t cost you anything. We have ‘The<br />
Pit,’ and ‘The Triangle,’ and we can take The Pit furniture<br />
and move it down to The Triangle and not miss a beat,<br />
and vice versa. You end up with a whole different feel<br />
and atmosphere. We use a lot of <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s<br />
tables and ottomans, and just by moving them<br />
around and interchanging different pieces<br />
give you a whole different feel.”<br />
While Jakuboski is shifting his furniture on a daily<br />
basis, he only recently opened Baca Sports Lounge,<br />
and has not felt the need for a large-scale overhaul of the<br />
layout. But that not to say, if and when the time comes, he<br />
won’t be encouraged to do so by the ease of interchange he’s<br />
already experience with the <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> products.<br />
“We haven’t changed it up yet on whole, since we just opened,”<br />
says Jakuboksi. “We haven’t needed to go for a totally new<br />
feel yet. But we change it<br />
up a lot for events and for<br />
different things going on,<br />
and our space is working the<br />
way it is now. But summer<br />
time is coming, and we are<br />
almost entirely windows on<br />
the exterior, with huge glass<br />
doors that open up. So we<br />
open those up in the summer,<br />
because we’re on the shore,<br />
and changing the furniture<br />
around is one of the things<br />
we’re going to have to do<br />
when the flow of the room<br />
changes with the season.<br />
People will be flowing inside<br />
and outside, so the furniture<br />
will have to allow for that.” FL<br />
The miracle of modular<br />
furniture continues, both<br />
inside and out…<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Spring 2012 | <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> 11
ARE YOU IN OR OUT?<br />
Finding <strong>Furniture</strong> for Both<br />
Indoor and Outdoor Use<br />
The In’s and Out’s<br />
of Modular <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
By Chris Ytuarte<br />
Adding to the mythology of modular furnishings is its<br />
ability to enhance a venue both indoors and outdoors, with<br />
similar success. While not every nightclub has both kinds<br />
of environments, those that do face a challenge in finding<br />
furniture that can maintain a common aesthetic throughout,<br />
keep customers comfortable, and allow for reconfiguration<br />
based on nightly needs. The outdoor elements present their<br />
own problems in this scenario, but <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
customers can rest at ease—help is on the way.<br />
In Asbury Park, New Jersey, drinking outdoors is considered<br />
a national pastime. Before it became a realty TV punchline,<br />
the Jersey Shore was long known as a haven for summer time<br />
nightlife on the east coast. As such, Baca Sports Lounge owner<br />
Mark Jakuboski knows fully well his Asbury location alone<br />
denotes a need for outdoor entertaining. And he knows just<br />
where to turn to furnish the first summer of his fledgling venue.<br />
“We’re going to use <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> stuff outdoors as well,” says<br />
Jakuboski, who’s sports lounge already sports <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> product throughout its interior. “It’s going to be<br />
essential to making the outside flow into the inside, and vice<br />
versa. We’ll have the same lines and sleekness to it, but just<br />
different textures and colors.<br />
“We bought <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s wicker furniture for outside,<br />
in mostly wavy patterns to keep things sleek, and we’ll also<br />
use a lot of their outdoor tables. We’re in a city with 15-foot<br />
sidewalks, so we’ll be creating space with the furniture. It will<br />
be essential to creating a lounge space outside. We haven’t done<br />
it yet, because we opened in October, but the spring is going<br />
to be very interesting when we start setting it up and getting it<br />
going.”<br />
Even up in the brisk air of Canada, club-goers needs an<br />
outdoor space in the summer, when the temperatures are mild<br />
and patrons who have been hibernating all winter want to be<br />
in the open air. Jack Moslehi, owner of Opera Ultra Lounge<br />
in Winnipeg, Canada, has the interior of his club packed with<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>, and is expanding his newly opened<br />
venue to include outdoor space for the warmer seasons.<br />
“We opened Opera, and we’re expanding to add more<br />
furnishings inside, and we’re taking the club element out to<br />
make it a total lounge,” says Moslehi. “After that, phase four<br />
would be the patio.”<br />
The patio, says Moslehi, will incorporate <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s<br />
modular furniture in a similar way it was utilized inside. “There<br />
really isn’t much of a difference when approaching an indoor<br />
12 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com
or outdoor installation. The only thing that changes is whether<br />
the furniture can put up with the elements. The great thing, the<br />
quality and aesthetic doesn’t have to lessen when you’re using<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>’s outdoor furniture.”<br />
As with the indoor applications, club owners find themselves<br />
with the comfort of relying upon <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>’s<br />
team of designers to help them create the best possible space,<br />
outdoors as well.<br />
“With any of their stuff, I would say before I do anything or<br />
make any move I call over the folk at <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong>, and explain<br />
what I want, and they give me all my options,” says Moslehi.<br />
“And I love their Web site, because it gives you all these options<br />
but it’s clear and it’s clean and if you want to go with this look,<br />
check this out, if you want to go with this look, view here.<br />
Everything is clear and smooth. Other furniture Web sites are<br />
limited by what they offer. If you don’t like a certain style,<br />
there’s nothing for you. But <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> has a little bit of<br />
everything—for a guy like me, anyway.”<br />
Back in New Jersey, Jakuboski agrees. “<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> has<br />
already helped us design the outdoor layout according to the<br />
footprint; it’s just a matter of setting it up,” he says.<br />
Under the year-round sunny sky of Universal City, California,<br />
Samba Brazilian Steakhouse Lounge maintains its outdoor<br />
seating with some of <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>’s best modular<br />
components. “The quality of the product is only matched<br />
by the quality of the service you receive from those guys on<br />
anything they help you create,” says George Moussalli, CEO<br />
of the Samba Group. “From day one, if something didn’t turn<br />
out right, they fixed it; if something didn’t fit right, they made it<br />
fit; they even replaced some cushions for us at no charge at one<br />
point.”<br />
Moussalli’s experience with <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> carries over to<br />
his customers’ experience with the furnishings in his venue,<br />
and just this past month, Samba reconfigured the modular<br />
components for an entirely new look. “Couldn’t have been<br />
easier,” says Moussalli.<br />
“When we open up those windows and<br />
doors in the summer, changing the<br />
furniture around is one of the things<br />
we’re going to have to do when the flow<br />
of the room changes with the season.”<br />
So whether you’re in or you’re out—or maybe both—keep an<br />
eye on the line of furnishings from <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>. The<br />
use of modular products, both indoors and outdoors, can keep<br />
your venue looking contemporary, even with the sun beating<br />
down and salty sea air settling in. And if the elements do take<br />
their toll, the cost of a redesign is minimal. FL<br />
Again, win-win.<br />
Samba Brazilian Steakhouse Lounge,<br />
Universal CityWalk, Hollywood, CA.<br />
Model S20 Outdoor Collection featured.<br />
www.modernlinefurniture.com<br />
Spring 2012 | <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> 13
Top 5<br />
On-premise<br />
Furnishing Trends<br />
By Josh Lucas, Senior <strong>Design</strong>er, <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
1) Tufting vs. smooth characteristics of furniture<br />
The characteristics of your furniture should parallel the theme of<br />
your club. If your bar or nightclub is ultra modern, with smooth<br />
high gloss hard surface finishes and clean lines, then furniture<br />
with smooth leather upholstery, subtle, yet defined curves and<br />
elements of steel (in the footings of the modular components)<br />
are great ways to emphasize and make the furniture a part of the<br />
overall design. Yet, should you have detailed millwork, a custom<br />
bar with decorative inlays and subway-style tile floors matched<br />
with deep, richly textured painted walls, then tufting may be the<br />
characteristic to draw into your furniture selection. Many bar<br />
owners think of furniture as the after-thought, the last ticket item<br />
needed to make the place operational; when, in reality, furniture<br />
can sometimes be the most important<br />
characteristic of a space. Paying attention<br />
to small details, such as a black tufted back<br />
on a white or brown seat base, can instantly<br />
bring the necessary style and appeal that<br />
makes beer taste that much better.<br />
2) Product heights (creating intimacy<br />
in open spaces)<br />
Utilizing varying heights of furniture,<br />
specifically the height of the seating back<br />
panels, defines areas and demonstrates<br />
hierarchy in the infamous VIP nightclub<br />
social classes. It has become somewhat of<br />
a game-changer when differentiating bottle<br />
service furniture arrangements for the ultra<br />
plush, VIP groupings. The higher the back,<br />
the more intimate your seating becomes.<br />
And that works best in open warehouselike<br />
spaces with 18-foot ceilings. Tall-back<br />
modular furniture provides nightclub owners an easy way to make<br />
use of the vertical square footage without breaking the bank to<br />
put in a second floor. Similarly, for narrow rooms that have little<br />
lighting or singular entry ways, furniture with a low back helps to<br />
create the illusion of higher ceilings and more space.<br />
3) Fast-tracking design with pre-packaged<br />
configurations<br />
Everyone has deadlines, and in the nightclub and bar industry,<br />
especially when it’s a specific holiday, calendar event or private,<br />
fully booked party, pre-packaged, pre-designed modular<br />
furniture configurations are the best way to make sure you get<br />
the seating you need within the time frame you need it. The best<br />
part of working with pre-packaged furniture configurations is<br />
that nine times out of ten times, they are modular components<br />
consisting of no-more than four pieces. Which means, after the<br />
holiday drinking has commenced or the private party clears out<br />
for the night, you can easily reposition the furniture to form a<br />
completely different seating arrangement with a totally new feel.<br />
Fast-tracking the design of your nightclub or bar doesn’t mean<br />
you have to have it in one pre-packaged set-up for two or three<br />
years when specifying modular furniture. It means you are fasttracking<br />
your options based on your space.<br />
4) AutoCAD drawings and the importance of knowing<br />
your space—in theory and in scale<br />
Maximizing your square footage means maximizing your seat<br />
count, which in turn represents a higher gross profit average<br />
for the bar at the end of the night. So why waste your time on<br />
guessing what will fit when resourcing design services such as<br />
AutoCAD drawings and furniture floor<br />
plan specifications (a service <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong><br />
extends to all of their nightclub and bar<br />
owners) is the easiest way for you to ensure<br />
all your marketing dollars are coming back<br />
two-fold. We all like to think our spaces are<br />
the biggest and best, but in reality, sometimes<br />
the furniture we want to have fit, and what<br />
actually will fit, can be very different. By<br />
measuring your space ahead of time and<br />
working with a specialist in the field of space<br />
planning, AutoCAD floor plan design, and<br />
furniture product knowledge, you can avoid<br />
the headache and guessing game and be<br />
assured the product (or at least the style of<br />
the product) you want for your new space<br />
will be the perfect fit.<br />
5) Staying ahead of the curve: Why<br />
more bars are breaking free from the<br />
square shape formula of design<br />
It all comes down to linear elements—how many of and what<br />
model can you fit in a dedicated square or rectangular shaped<br />
space. But sometimes the straight lines and 90-degree corners<br />
of furniture can limit the maximum seating capacity in a given<br />
area. Recently, bars have been warming to the theory the<br />
modular can also mean curvy. This new approach to the longresourced<br />
square shape formula has brought innovation and, at<br />
times, doubled the seating to the designated areas. Products like<br />
<strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Line</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong>’s indoor Coco or Luna collection, as<br />
well as their outdoor La Jolla and S68 models, can certainly be a<br />
frame of reference for this new trend. Both can be configured to<br />
make the standard U-shape or L-shape sectional arrangement;<br />
but they can also be pushed back-to-back, in multiple directions,<br />
with inverted and outward facing curved seating components, to<br />
open up a whole new world of conversational groupings while<br />
upping the max seat count. Additionally, it creates interest in the<br />
14 <strong>Frontline</strong> <strong>Design</strong> | Spring 2012 www.modernlinefurniture.com