More than 15 years ago, a mish mosh of New York glitterati, Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes crossed the threshold of Manhattan’s famed China Club. Among the A-list crowd was then 16-year-old James Brennan.

As it goes on the city’s club circuit, someone must know someone to break past the bouncer, and Brennan was a friend of a family member of the owner.

“You couldn’t get in if you were of age, nevermind if you were 16,” said Brennan of the New York hot spot, which has since been remodeled. “The newer China Club never had the cachet of the original.”

Fast forward 3,000 miles and more than a decade and a half – Brennan, 34, CEO of EnDev Enterprises LLC, is seven days from opening Universal in Hillcrest, the newest of the entrepreneur’s nightlife destinations aimed at bringing a little cachet to San Diego.

Brennan reinvented the Gaslamp with Side Bar in 2002, bringing bottle service and a New York atmosphere to America’s Finest City. He upped the ante in December 2005 with Stingaree, a 22,000 square foot restaurant and nightclub that put San Diego on the map (and on Conde Nast’s radar – Traveler named Stingaree one of the 25 Hottest Nightclubs in the Country).

With Universal, the hotly anticipated new club, and Dish at Universal, the accompanying restaurant, Brennan hopes to create a diverse atmosphere in one San Diego’s few, true neighborhoods – Hillcrest. With the slowed economy and the challenge of drawing Gaslamp groupies to Uptown, Brennan is taking a risk with Universal – but as the nightlife mogul has shown in the past, gambles pay off.

Gay & Lesbian Times: Stingaree changed San Diego nightlife and put the city on the nation’s radar. How is Universal going to change the landscape of after-dark activities?

James Brennan: This has been a process. I’d love to say that Stingaree was responsible, but Stingaree and Side Bar were really just the first step. With Side Bar we introduced bottle service to San Diego, and we were the first to offer it. Stingaree took it to the next level, especially with the accolades we got. The national spotlight was on the Gaslamp via Stingaree.

As far as Universal goes, it’s funny, because I’ve always felt that this [Hillcrest] was an underserved market inside the county, and I’ve been here since ’92, don’t let the New York accent fool you.

I’ve always thought this is one of the true neighborhoods left in San Diego, and I’m from the East Coast – I know what a neighborhood is. There wasn’t really much invested into the community as far as nightlife establishments. We saw an opportunity, we appreciate the fact that there’s a missing component, we recognized that, identified it, found the space, which is obviously on University, and that’s how the name came about. Once the Universal name was put in place, it took on a life of its own as far as the mission statement for what the brand is going to be. It’s going to cross some barriers that are still there and really truly be a place for everybody. If you’re not OK with whatever, then this is not the place for you. What the impact is going to be – I don’t know, I guess you could call this a bit of a social experiment.

If you’re a gay man with a straight brother in town, you can feel comfortable bringing him here and vice versa. This is truly going to be a place where everybody is comfortable. We recognize there’s a significant gay presence in Hillcrest, and that is one of the communities we felt was so underserved. Stingaree hosted a few gentlemen’s martini nights and we got feedback from the men. We did focus groups and listened to the community’s response. And we fee like this is an opportunity to cross boundaries, to let people know it’s 2008, get with it, or stay home.

GLT: From concept to execution, how do you gauge what’s missing on the San Diego nightclub/dining scene, and how do you meet the need?

JB: It’s about looking at what’s out there, seeing what the competition is offering, what venues have or don’t have and designing our spaces from there. Our designs are a step above what you see out there. We think about flow and sightlines, things that maybe other places don’t think about until it’s too late. And we were willing to make a significant investment in the project itself – everything is a gamble, there’s no sure thing, but I think we’ve got a really good chance at being successful. There really hasn’t been an investment as substantial as we’re making. We’re going to have a great restaurant, a courtyard area and 6,500 square feet to lounge and dance and whoop it up. We’re going to have multiple atmospheres. The interior nightclub is one atmosphere and the courtyard, The Garden, is a totally different atmosphere. The restaurant is going to have a real urban feel, with great energy and great food, and when you couple all of that, you have a recipe for success.

GLT: What’s the incentive for people who frequent Gaslamp hotspots to leave that neighborhood and venture into Hillcrest?

JB: Everybody is always looking for something new – that’s the nature of the business. By default, people are going to want to come and see what this is all about.

And some people don’t like dealing with the Downtown crowds and the parking and the traffic – not that parking is going to be much better [in Hillcrest] – but if you get off the [Interstate] 5 and drive down Sixth to Stingaree, it can take you 20 minutes plus just to get there.

Universal is going to offer a unique setting, the design is phenomenal and the service in on par with all of the other places we’ve done, which by far sets the standard in San Diego. I think the place is going to be a big hit. It’s been an extreme challenge to get this to completion, harder than anything we’ve done, the hardest by far.

GLT: Let’s chat about a few of your venues and circle back to Universal. Side Bar recently closed – what is the plan for that space?

JB: Everything is changing. It is going to be totally, completely different. I walked through the other day and it is gutted, and it’s definitely tough – that was my baby. It was our baby, the first of what has become my profession. But at some point in time, from a financial standpoint, you have to let go of attachments like that. It’s time for a change, it’s time for a rebranding. We have to create an opportunity on that corner [Sixth and Market], it’s a great corner. We have to turn the page. And it’s still under wraps what we’re doing, but it’s all going to happen so quickly. We’re going to let it build itself up and then we’ll start to leak hints.

GLT: You’ve had to adjust the menu and the prices a bit at Bar West, your venue in Pacific Beach. How do you gauge what’s working and what isn’t, and how do you make adjustments?

JB: I love that space. Definitely from a standpoint of the crowd and the vibe, we hit the mark. Where we kind of missed it a little was from a financial standpoint – the bottom line is it is P.B., and as much as we wanted to bring Downtown to the beach, we tried to do it a bit with the pricing too, and it wasn’t working. What happened was people were going up the block and drinking and getting wasted on $2 you-call-its, and then coming down to dance and listen to music at our place. At the end of the day, the place is a blast, the atmosphere and the crowd are great and it’s a super fun place – by far it’s the best place to hang out at the beach.

GLT: You’ve traveled the world, and you’ve been to nightclubs and restaurants in so many major cities – so what is unique about San Diego’s nightlife scene?

JB: I am originally from the East Coast, so I spent a lot of time in New York City. I went to high school in Manhattan, and I’d see other cities on vacation or on weekends, and my little brother played basketball at UNLV [University of Nevada, Las Vegas] so I spent time in Vegas. But as you get older, you tend to cherish your weekends a little more, and I like spending time in San Diego with my wife and my friends. You look at San Diego and it’s got all of the components of a great travel destination – the weather, the beach – all it needed was the nightlife and the hotels, and over the past five or six years, we’ve made significant strides in the right direction. It’s a true travel destination. We see it every week in the receipts – people are coming from all over, whether it’s Arizona, or San Francisco or Colorado. One thing about the economy, as shitty as it is, is a lot of people who would normally spend vacation time in Europe or someplace else are going to stay local.

San Diego certainly isn’t Miami and it’s not New York or Las Vegas, but San Diego is right below those top three cities. It’s a better city for the weekend. New York, Miami, Vegas – they’re at the very top, a level all their own, but San Diego is at the top of the very next level.

San Diego is a unique place. It has so much to offer and it’s such a great city. To not have a nightlife component that rivals some of the other big cities across the country is absurd. We’ve taken major steps in the right direction,and it’s just impossible to stop us. I think in 10 years, we’re going to look back and say ‘Wow.’ And Universal is going to be a part of that.

GLT: It’s no secret the economy has slowed, and in The San Diego Union-Tribune last month, you mentioned business at Stingaree was down – is it a difficult time to launch a restaurant/bar?

JB: We’d love to see the economy doing much better, but the realist is it’s not. People still want to go out, though. They say bars and restaurants are recession proof, bars moreso than restaurants, and we’ve had a great two months at Stingaree. We’re back on track. Our service, the layout, the flow [of Universal] is going to set us a notch above everyone else, so we’re not as worried about the economy.

GLT: And finally, it’s the question on everyone’s minds – what took so long?

JB: Two things. The first was the liquor license process, which was extremely difficult to navigate and there were some things that happened outside our control. We ran into some snags with someone who lived in Uptown who had a girlfriend opening a bar across the street, and they rallied and protested, but when it was said and done, they felt they’d been duped and the number of people protesting dropped by about 90 percent.

Second, the land lent to some construction problems. The Dish building, that whole building, collapsed and threw us off about six or eight months. But now, we’re on track and it’s going to be worth the wait.

When Side Bar introduced bottle service to San Diego in 2002, VIP treatment would never be the same.

Since, EnDev Enterprises LLC has found new, creative ways to up the ante for its loyal, exclusive clientele.

When Stingaree opened in 2005, CEO James Brennan and his cohorts launched the Sting card, a two-year membership that afforded the upper echelon of visitors countless perks. Now, with the launch of Universal, EnDev is rolling out the red carpet for the new EnDev card, a members-only card that allows individuals special access to Universal and the company's other establishments, including Stingaree and Bar West.

“From the minute you walk up to the ropes, to the minute you decide to leave, it’s an incredible service that goes above and beyond,” said Shane Brennan, VIP manager for EnDev.

At $3,000 for an individual membership and $6,000 for the corporate membership, the service has to excel.

The one-year membership card offers exclusive entrance to EnDev’s clubs and restaurants, access privileges for the cardholder and three accompanied guests, priority seating in restaurants, discounts on food and $325 in dining vouchers, private party discounts, a night of bottle service for up to 25 people, a night of Sting limo service, and access and advance notification to special events, openings and member-only events.

The card also offers a concierge service and allows cardholders to send unaccompanied guests to the clubs and restaurants. The unaccompanied guests do not pay cover and enter through the VIP line.

The company is also offering a Universal pre-opening special, which includes at no additional charge invitations to the Universal grand opening events starting April 11, and a complimentary bottle of choice at members’ first bottle service experience at Universal.

“You’re paying for the service and you’re paying for the real estate,” Brennan said. “You have an exclusive spot to sit, make yourself a drink, relax, have a conversation with friends. The worst experiences in a club are when you’re tired, and it’s packed and you’re standing shoulder to shoulder with people on the dance floor – and all you want to do is sit and have a drink and a conversation and people watch. With a table, you’re usually the one being watched, though.”

With the renovation of Side Bar and developing properties on the cove in La Jolla, the card will expand its access to new venues.

Brennan, who enjoys the VIP experience when he’s out in New York, Miami and Las Vegas, says service in San Diego is reaching new heights – and EnDev is at the forefront.

“VIP service in San Diego is definitely evolving – and it’s an unparalleled experience,” Brennan said. “Who wouldn’t want to get right in and not wait in a line? Who wouldn’t want to have their own cocktail server pour a drink and have it done the right way? Everyone tries it once, and everyone loves it.” (JP)