Versatile L.A. club attracts students

Farouk Gandhi and Nik Saum transformed partying into a successful career.

Gandhi and Saum, both UCLA alumni, own and manage V-Lounge, the new Westside hot spot. Located in Santa Monica, V-Lounge aims to please younger, not to mention less wealthy, crowds.

Saum wants the club to offer UCLA students an alternative to expensive nightclubs and parties on frat row.

“Once people get out of the frat scene, they still want to party and have a good time, but not everyone has the deep pockets to go out on a Friday night in Hollywood,” said Saum, who graduated from UCLA in 2004 with a degree in musicology and is now a general manager of V-Lounge. “Being at UCLA for a while and meeting so many different types of students gave me a broad spectrum of what people want out of a Friday night.”

While at UCLA, Saum and Gandhi worked on the Cultural Affairs Commission planning the Annual JazzReggae Festival. Gandhi, who graduated from UCLA in 2002 with a degree in economics and is now the owner and manager of V-Lounge, says that his experience working in the event-planning groups at UCLA really opened up his options within the entertainment industry.

“We have so many people that we graduated with that all got into entertainment through working on the concerts, Cultural Affairs and Campus Events,” Gandhi said. “We know people at record labels, in marketing, at firms and at agencies. All of us worked together and were students together, so it’s really easy to help each other out.”

Gandhi had been working in event promotions for the previous owner of the venue, and when the opportunity arose, he took over in October 2005. Though they had a big support group from their UCLA days, the duo still found opening V-Lounge to be a challenging process.

“We were purposely not trying to rush it so we didn’t get in over our heads, because it’s our first big project that we’ve had after school,” Saum said.

Because of this, the pair waited until just six months ago to begin an extensive remodeling of the club.

During this period of construction, Saum and Gandhi continued to open their doors to thrill-seeking Westsiders.

“There were weekends when we opened with all the walls (covered) with drywall and spackle and plywood on the floor. We’d just put the band on and open like a warehouse,” Gandhi said. “If you ever walked in here on a Thursday night, people would always be like, “˜There’s no way you’re going to open.'”

The club held an official grand opening six weeks ago, and Saum claims it has been packed ever since.

And though the club is situated on the West Side, it’s still in Los Angeles, where it is difficult to tell the difference between one club and the next. Yet Saum believes their customer service sets them apart.

“Our No. 1 pitch is our customer service. Some establishments could care less when the person leaves, as long as they get that money,” he said. “Don’t worry about paying at the door. Come in. See the place. Enjoy it.”

Another element that distinguishes V-Lounge is its capability to adapt to any social situation. The club is equipped with three bars, a 133-inch television for game nights, a dance floor, a stage for a live band, and a separate area for VIPs or private parties with its own sound system and bar.

Lauren Charles, a fourth year psychobiology student, finds it a fun place to come with friends.

“It just has so much to offer,” she said. “Sometimes it takes forever for a group of friends to decide what to do on a Friday or Saturday night, but I feel like with V-Lounge I could go there on any night and it would be exactly what everyone wanted to do.”

With its name recognition growing, many visitors to the club are left wondering: What exactly does the V in V-Lounge stand for?

Gandhi himself is not quite sure.

“We just kind of came up with it. There’s not really a concept behind it,” he said. “It just looked good.”

And with this more laid-back approach to having a good time, Saum and Gandhi are reaping the rewards of their efforts with V-Lounge.

“It’s the gratification that the work I’m doing is paying off,” Saum said. “Seeing someone come and have a great night and then at the end of the night say, “˜We’re coming next week.’ It’s our first main project post-school, (so) for us to get that gratification, that’s the best thing.”

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