Sarasota – Locals searching for a new LGBT hot spot can elevate their Friday night experience at Starlite in Sarasota.
Jan. 8 is the grand opening of Elevate – Friday Nights at Starlite. The night will kick off with a happy hour from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the downstairs lounge, where guests can mingle while enjoying the sounds of show tunes on the piano. Joshua Beadle, event coordinator and owner of Beadle Media, says bottle prices will be lowered in hopes that people will socialize and share with friends. Bottle specials will include $40 Chandon champagne and $75 Stoli vodka. Joel Pozo will serve as VIP bottle service host.
“Joel will be our very sexy bottle server,” Beadle says. “We wanted to make him as suave as possible in black pants, suspenders, bowtie, and no shirt. And, of course, sexy underwear.”
Following happy hour, late night entertainment will include host Conundrum and special guests Anita Waistline of Tampa Bay and performer Kiki Butter Mischief of Sarasota. Beadle says he would like to feature new girls in the Tampa Bay area each week to expose more people in Sarasota to new faces. He also says the evening will include dancers and “male eye candy.”
“I want to fill the place up with people,” Beadle says. “It’s about more than just bringing gay people to a straight establishment; it’s also about engaging the staff. If they feel like they’re part of the magic, they’ll promote it and bring in more people.”
Beadle launched Elevate as a by-product of Ivory Lounge’s Cream Thursdays’ Dissolution. Beadle began Cream Thursdays when he moved to Sarasota in 2012 after noticing a lack of LGBT nightlife events in the area. He began G2H2: Gay Guy Happy Hour shortly thereafter. After Cream Thursdays ended, Beadle decided to start Elevate as a way for the Cream crowd to continue their fun.
“Cream has been a night for everyone, not just the LGBT community,” Beadle says. “It’s been a night for socializing among people who want to be seen, be crazy and wear cool costumes. I can’t wait to see how the future of this will roll out.”
Beadle says he is also hoping to merge the older and younger crowds among the G2H2 group by appealing to the older crowd with a happy hour and the younger crowd with late night entertainment.
“I pride myself on not hyper-focusing on one crowd,” Beadle says. “I want to continue to do that.”
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