It's the 19th Century Again at Chalet, From Bar25's Founders
Between the recent renaissance of absinthe and the blogosphere's fascination with 1800s nightlife, it's probably only a natural extension of the zeitgeist for the folks who founded the legendary hedonist's paradise Bar25 to bring their talents to bear on a Berlin night spot that evokes a 19th century vibe. As we've already observed, since Bar25's closing, Christoph Klenzendorf, who helped bring it into being, has established a worthy successor in Kater Holzig. But Chalet represents a vision of an entirely different kind of club scene.
Klenzendorf's former Bar25 co-conspirators Danny Faber and Andreas Söcknick, in collaboration with Sebastian Baier and a number of silent partners, have found themselves a classic-looking, 150-year-old brick building (former home to hotspot Heinz Minki) in Kreuzberg that's craftily situated in strikingly close proximity to Club der Visionaere. It's the kind of place you could easily imagine figuring into a Baudelaire poem or a Balzac story, the sort of spot where personal passion plays are fueled by carefully selected spirits and the dizzying glow only a cool clientele can generate. Throw in a sizable garden and a pond, and you've got just the setting to inspired a budding Baudelaire of the present day. Things will kick off with a bang at Chalet, with a July 6 opening event (Hey, that's tonight!) that will last all damn weekend, featuring the DJ skills of Deadbeat, Daniel Dreier, Dana Ruh and more.
