Many college students probably remember Scandals, the night club at 2222 Centennial Blvd., near Autzen Stadium. Scandals is no more because the club has undergone a transformation. It now sports a new look, a new name and a new sound.
Club Tsunami, whose name means “tidal wave,” held its grand opening last Friday and has begun a campaign to lure college students back through its remodeled doors.
“We want to make (the club) a lot of fun,” said Kit Chan owner of Tsunami and Kowloon, the adjoining restaurant. He said he wants to “make this the best place for (students) to hang out.”
Chan said he decided to change the look of the club to something that was easier to decorate with a theme. When the club was Scandals, he said the atmosphere was more like that of a bar or tavern with several neon beer lights hanging on the walls.
Now, with jungle trees painted on the support beams, colorful lights suspended from the ceiling, new tables and new carpet, Chan said they are going for a more “Euro-Asian” look.
“We’re now using a lot of intelligent light — high tech,” he said.
In addition to adding high-tech lighting, he said they have also updated their sound system making it by far a step ahead of other clubs, playing today’s Top 40s hits, R&B and other mainstream dance music.
Chan said the club is geared toward the over-21 college crowd, and with student housing complexes such as Ducks Village and the University Commons just down the road, there should be no lack of clientele.
To further entice the students to spend their study breaks at Tsunami, Chan said they offer a discount on the cover price for those showing a valid University or Lane Community College I.D.
Though the club will cater more to the college crowd, Chan said they also offer live comedy on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. that might appeal to older patrons.
“If you pay the cover you can stay for the dancing after (with no extra charge),” Chan said. “You get two for one.”
However, not everyone has been enchanted by the revamped club.
Local resident Ray Delille visited Club Tsunami last Saturday and said he did not see a huge difference since the club changed names.
“I like the outside,” he said. “The (new) entrance is nice.”
Delille and his friend Cinammond Hollins both expressed frustration at the limited designated areas for smoking, though the club does offer an outdoor smoking deck. They said the building had been expanded, making the new smoking deck smaller.
Courtney Ellingsworth, a student at Lane Community College, said the smaller setting gave her a feeling that everyone was watching everyone else, and the location was not ideal.
Unlike the downtown locations, she said, “You can’t pop from one club to the next.”
Maria Pashova, a bartender and server at the club, said she loves the more intimate setting.
“The atmosphere is better, smaller — people know you,” she said.
She said the downtown clubs were more massive and impersonal.
Felicia Duke, a server at the club, said Tsunami provides a “good atmosphere, good spirits and good drinks.”
Tara Sullivan, a delivery hostess, said she preferred Tsunami over the other clubs because it felt like a more modern, updated, “big city” kind of place, but isn’t sleazy.
“They play good dance music,” Sullivan added.
Club Tsunami is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays, and 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. on weekends. The cover charge is $3 for the general public and $1 for students on Friday and Saturday nights. The cover charge is $6 for the Saturday comedy show and includes dancing.
E-mail reporter Jen West
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