The Supper Club experience might be new to contemporary generations, but it’s made a remarkable return, thanks in part to high-profile spaces like Cosmopolitan’s Rose.Rabbit.Lie and Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio. The Vegas Room may be the first Las Vegas supper club created by three openly-gay men. Their unique take on the concept combines vintage-Vegas elegance with contemporary flair.
The Vegas Room Supper Club is a passion project representing the careers of three gifted gentlemen. President Thomas Richard Michel orchestrates the business side, drawing from years of experience in the entertainment industry (including MTV). Owner/Executive Chef David James Robinson is known to thousands of online fans and television viewers. Then there’s Director of Entertainment Brent Barret, a veteran lead performer in shows like Chicago and Phantom of the Opera.
Chef Robinson was an entertainer before developing his culinary skills. He and the others excelled at a time when homosexuality was an industry secret. Robinson and Michel have been together for 24 years, and Barret married former Starlight Express performer and current Nurse Practitioner Bernie Blanks in 2018.
QLife Magazine recently chatted with the men of The Vegas Room. They told us how the idea came about, what it took to launch in a pandemic-shaken city, and how their business model is built to stand the test of time.
Tom: In some ways, The Vegas Room has been “in the making” for many, many years. When you look at the four key players - including our General Manager, Sean Stephenson - everyone is playing to his unique strengths and adding a vital component to the overall team. Not only do our skills complement one another, but we share the same vision for what we’re building, and we truly like one another.
David: We initially envisioned The Vegas Room as an event space and catering business (we are caterers of record for the Mob Museum and Liberace Mansion). Then we became the “accidental cabaret”. We had Tom’s 60th Birthday at The Vegas Room. Tom played piano for Brent at the party. You could hear a pin drop, which is rare in Vegas. Brent kept saying, “I think you have a space here for performers. A small, intimate room where music and food meet.” When it became clear that there would be a long wait until more than 50 guests could gather in Nevada, we had to punt. Serendipity.
Brent: I had been looking all around Las Vegas the last year for a place that I could do the occasional show, and nothing seemed to be the right fit. After Tom’s birthday party, I suggested a Christmas Show. After the success of that, we decided we’d do a monthly show. A month into the shutdown, Tom and David wanted to do “events” every week. I started calling artists, and here we are two months after reopening and going strong.
Located in the historic Commercial Center on East Sahara Avenue, The Vegas Room can be challenging for new visitors to find. Yet, it benefits from being close to the legendary Sahara Hotel and the Arts District, where LGBTQ nightspot The Garden recently opened.
David: You can’t sing the blues without a little grit. We want history. We want to be real. The Rat Pack used to eat at Commercial Center Deli, Elvis used to buy bling at John Fish Jewelers, Led Zeppelin and The Doors played here in ‘69. We love where we are.
Tom: We would much rather take an existing “thing” and make it better by putting our own unique stamp on it. Every paint color, every picture, every crystal, every tiny detail was something that we collectively selected. We’re all very humbled that people like the many choices that we made, and that they feel so comfortable.
The first vital ingredient in a supper club is the ambiance. Next is the dinner presentation. The Vegas Room rolls out an entirely new menu every two weeks, curated entirely by Chef David. Everything is made from scratch and given a unique twist. Vegans and vegetarians always have an excellent entree to choose from and the occasional whimsical theme will surprise and delight.
David: Nourishing folks is profound. I promise it will never be boring! I told Tom to put on a warning when he posts menus that say “Our Chef is a little crazy and is constantly evolving our menus based on market availability and quality.” If something doesn’t look quite right, I don’t want to force the menu option. I want to make beautiful food...not plastic, not fussy, but so caring.
Established Vegas entertainers like Anne Martinez, Randal Keith, Eric Jordan Young, and Travis Cloer have found a new home at The Vegas Room. They come here to hang out, enjoy the talents of their colleagues, and take to the stage for their own stellar showcases. Many of Sin City’s brightest and best have already performed here, and many more are on the way.
Tom: I want local performers to have a place to showcase their talents and the material that they want to do...in the city that they love. The Vegas Room hits all of the buttons that make me excited. That’s probably why I love being a marketer.
David: Our criteria for booking our artists is a good pitch, clean diction, the ability to sell a song, great material perfectly curated. We are a listening room. It’s just piano and voice, with a bass or guitar thrown in at times. Some artists are scared of the bareness of it - you are exposed. Often that means presenting an incredible acting singer with guts and steely bravery. For our guests, it’s a beautiful, pure experience.
Brent: We really want to strip it down to the basics. Music and lyrics...just tell the story. There is no service during the performance. Working in The Vegas Room exercises different muscles. Not everyone is comfortable doing that. I can tell you from a performance standpoint, there is no quieter, more attentive audience in town.
With the COVID-19 quarantine came a shuttering of nearly all entertainment. The Vegas Room is one of the few places in Sin City where people can currently experience a live performance. It gives the venue a unique place in history that the creators believe will continue when things return to “normal”.
David: We take temps at the door, we use touchless sanitizer on entrance, we have single-use menus, we wrap the silverware, our staff wears masks. We take our baby steps. Some of it is inelegant, like wrapping our breads in Saran, but it is necessary. We have so much to learn in this new environment. It helps if you care...and we care enormously.
Brent: We are all very conscientious about safety. Making the guests and the artists feel safe and taken care of. We have taken tables out in order to spread the guests a safe distance. With what we have all been through the last several months, people appreciate the intimate atmosphere and warm friendly service. AND the wonderful talent we have on the stage every weekend.
Tom: Long-term connectedness with our guests is something that is incredibly important to us. It’s a major reason why we believe that our core audience is local people here in the Las Vegas Valley. We certainly welcome tourists, too, but repeat customers who support what we do will be our bread and butter in the long term.
The Vegas Room is located at 953 East Sahara Avenue E-18. Visit thevegasroom.com or call 702.533.0075