Since coming to the United States in 1992 and revolutionizing the New York City nightlife scene
with the legendary Tuesday Baby Tuesday party, Alon Jibli has been one of the
most influential people in the industry for almost twenty years. Unlike too
many people in his profession, Jibli stands out as a genuinely nice and
gracious guy in a sea of sleazy promoters. We split a delicious asparagus and
mushroom pizza, a favorite item at his latest business venture, Barbounia (and
"very bad for his diet"), and spoke about the ins and outs of New York nightlife and his plans for the
future.
A member of the club scene since
the age of 15, Jibli quickly learned the ropes and began running nightclubs by
the time he turned 18. He moved to New
York City when he was 21 and began promoting for
Tatou. "What brought me here is what's been bringing everybody here for the
last 300 years," he says, "the American dream." Like many people who come to New York City for the first time, Jibli was overwhelmed by
the city's sheer size: "I thought New
York was too big. Massive. Fast and big." Most of us
can relate.
But despite New York's titanic size and speed, Jibli has
called the city home for close to 20 years. "The best thing about New York is the fact
that you can be anybody you want to be, regardless of color, sex, or
religion, and be accepted. I think it's the only city in the world that you can
be really comfortable with whoever you are." It's a reminder that although it's
relatively easy to feel alienated in a city like New York, everyone has a niche here. It's a
place where, literally, there's something for everyone. "It's only a matter of
crossing a bridge or tunnel that everything changes all of a sudden, and you won't
be accepted for who you are," Jibli explains. "The whole city was built by
immigrants and is constantly being driven by combinations of locals and
immigrants. It's amazing that everybody can be comfortable."
Even though he was a newcomer in a
different country and culture (and living in one of the biggest, busiest cities
in the world, no less), Jibli got straight to work. He spent four years (quite
a long time, actually, for the nightlife industry) at Tatou working tirelessly
on Tuesday Baby Tuesday, a weeknight party that's still going strong 17 years
after it began, making it one of the most successful and long-running parties
in New York. These days, it's at Marquee. "Rain or shine," Jibli says, "we have
hundreds of people in the club. Anywhere from 500 to 800 people." Quite an
accomplishment, especially for a Tuesday night. But Jibli saw Tuesdays as both
a challenge and an opportunity for big business. "I think one of the reasons
why it became so successful is the fact that no one really wanted to deal with
doing something on a Tuesday night. It's a very difficult night to produce."
Jibli also attributes the success of Tuesday Baby Tuesday to "a combination of
a little bit of everything. Hard work. And you had people from all walks of
life coming together. A little bit from the fashion industry and a little bit from
entertainment. A little bit of young folks coming from colleges...It was
everything that came together and made perfect sense."
Despite the ongoing popularity of Tuesday
Baby Tuesday, Jibli believes that the nightlife scene in New York has taken a turn for the worse
since the 90s. "New York
in the 90s was what nightlife should be," he says. "It was fun. There was no
bottle service. It was very real. It was about pleasing the customer in terms
of entertainment. The appearance of bottle service, which actually improved nightlife
in terms of income, kind of changed the attitude. It wasn't about quality or
the customer any more. A customer was only valued based on how much money was
in their pocket. So it made the club a pretty boring place in terms of
nightlife. It was very awkward."
I read once that Mark "the godfather"
Baker had called promoting an "art form." I asked Jibli for his thoughts on the
comment, and while he did say "he's probably right," he was much more effusive
about the man himself. "I love Mark," he said. "When I moved to the country
almost 20 years ago, he was my role model. He's probably the nicest, most
elegant person in the industry. He will treat you, no matter who you are, with
nothing but respect." His approbation of Baker aside, Jibli is generally
disillusioned with most people in the entertainment industry, saying "I don't admire
people in our industry, although I think some of my friends in the industry are
brilliant people. Scientists and people who spend their entire day, for
literally no money, trying find a cure for disease, or people that spend most of
their day volunteering; those are the people I admire. I don't admire people
like me."
His feelings toward the current
club scene being what they are, he warns those aspiring to become promoters
about the perils of jumping headfirst into the industry. "Don't start," he
advises. However, Jibli is every bit appreciative of the platform that
promoting has given him, and the opportunities and friendships that have come
his way as a result. "Take it as a business. It's not a matter of having fun,
it's a matter of running a business. Promoting is an amazing stage because you
get to know so many people, and you can promote yourself and learn to do other
things in the business. For example, I have a restaurant. And I'm building
another restaurant. And I'm talking to people about starting a consulting
company. I would not be able to do all this if I were not a promoter. Even as a restaurant owner, or a consulting
company owner, I'm still a promoter. I'm always going to be a promoter. I don't
think you can succeed in life without the ability to promote yourself and your
business."
While one might think that
promulgating typically hedonistic clubs and events probably isn't the most
morally edifying profession, he speaks sincerely about its rewards. Jibli is
both grateful for and humbled by the love and support that he has received from
the friends he's made throughout his career. Such support has enabled him to
"open a business such as Barbounia. I told everybody that I opened a
restaurant, and so many people were so supportive. To see that you've made all
these connections throughout the years and that you've met so many people from
all walks of life...You'd been nice to them once or twice and they've never
stopped giving back to you. It's really beautiful to see happen, and I'm
nothing but thankful to all the people that have supported me and Barbounia and
many other things that I've done. It brings me so much joy."
As for Barbounia, the charmingly
chic and impressively sweeping pan-Mediterranean restaurant in Flatiron, Jibli's
enthusiasm for it is almost preciously apparent. "The opportunity [to get
involved] came my way about a year ago. I loved the room, and I had really
wanted to work with [Executive Chef Efraim Naon] for some time." Chef Naon is
the first Israeli chef in New York
City to be awarded 2 stars by the New York Times, "a massive achievement," as Jibli puts it. "He is definitely
the most gifted chef that I've come across in my life. I knew that I could
bring a lot of people into the restaurant, but what brings them back is the
quality of the food and the service." His philosophy as a restaurateur revolves
around the customer's experience: "You have to be in your restaurant. You have
to be in touch with your customers. They're your friends."
Barbounia, named for the small red
mullet fish known for being one of the best tasting fish in the sea, offers
diners a menu that takes "a little bit from everywhere: Turkey, Greece,
Morocco, France, Israel, and Italy," Chef Naon says. The restaurant serves
barbounia "sometimes, when it's available. But it's difficult to find, they're
really small. The big ones you can find, but we won't eat those. We're trying
to stay authentic."
Barbounia's success and Jibli's entrepreneurial instinct are keeping him busier
than ever and looking for new ways to expand his business. In addition to the
aforementioned consulting company, Jibli says that he is working on another
restaurant for summer 2010. "I'm working with my partnership [at Barbounia].
We're looking at a spot on the Lower East Side,
which we believe is an amazing area." Also, "if I can get the right location,
and a bit more time on my hands, I'm thinking of doing a club. But extremely
different from what New York
has to offer now." If all goes as planned, Jibli will be able to transport NYC club
goers back to a better time; specifically, back to the 90s. Jibli is also
exploring scenes and neighborhoods across the bridge: "There are plenty of
things going on in Brooklyn and Williamsburg.
I went to a loft party a month ago in Williamsburg.
I don't know where but it was, but it was probably the best party I've been to
in the last 6 months, the best scene I've seen under one roof in a long long
time."
Jibli likes to start his day with
"a little bit of water,a double cappuccino, and little bit of House music
to wake [him] up." And although I expected his (or any promoter's) personal
soundtrack to consist mainly of the latest House tracks, he "hasn't stopped
listening to Pink Floyd for the last 35 years. Pink Floyd is in a league of its
own. Everything else is just there." When he's not working (which is a very,
very rare occurrence), Jibli is most likely either asleep or performing his
routine one hour of cardio per day. On a recent trip to Australia, where
his cell phone was conveniently out of commission, Jibli finally had the
opportunity to relax. He finished In The
Blink Of An Eye, which he says "has been sitting on my shelf for I think
three years now. I read it on the airplane back from Australia. I find a bit of a truth
in his theory. But it's arguable." He also went to see Inglourious Basterds, but "really did not like it."
Jibli knows that New Year's Eve,
despite the hype, isn't really about tables or bottle service, but the people
you spend it with. This year, he's going to be celebrating at one of his
favorite spots in the city: his own restaurant. "We are having 2 seatings. The
second is at 8:30, and we're having an after party at 11. At 11 I'll probably
have more friends with me, like a couple of hundred of my friends that have
ended up staying in the city. And we're going to have a party until 3 or 4."
Wherever 2010 takes him, we're sure Jibli is going to be doing what he does
best: bringing people together for a good time.
Photos courtesy of Barbounia.com
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