The decor in The Jungle certainly tries to fit the name. Eugene’s newest night spot is filled to the brim with fake palm trees, ferns and even a small waterfall. Everything is bathed in ultra-violet light, casting an eerie glow over the scattered tables and mock vegetation.
The stage has a dance floor that can’t help but be packed. When there is no room left for dancers, customers dance in any open space they can find. Even the flames of small candles strewn about the bar move with the beat of the music, flickering from the change in air pressure caused by pounding bass drums of the band onstage.
But this is just one of the venue’s many faces over the years. Until last November, the club was known as the Annex, a popular underage venue. But while the club pulled in the crowds, it wasn’t enough.
“We did well, but we were just making money from the charge at the door,” said Alexandra Sianis, the club’s manager. “We tried to get a liquor license, but it took some time.”
When the club finally did become licensed to sell alcohol, other problems arose.
“The Annex had become strongly branded as an underage club,” The Jungle owner Doug Renner said. “We put up flyers and advertisements, but nobody seemed to realize that we now served alcohol.”
So the owners and managers of the club decided to make a change. In November of last year they closed the club and began remodeling. Filling what was once an empty space with tropical paraphernalia, an expanded stage and a revamped sound system, the owners brought the club back as The Jungle at the beginning of the new year. According to Renner, the change has been a successful one.
“We’ve had about 700 people a night every Friday and Saturday since we reopened,” Renner said. “I think we’re showing people in Eugene something new, giving them a place that’s clean, safe and comfortable.”
The owners believe one of the reasons for the popularity is the venue hasn’t been completely closed off to minors since reopening. On select nights it allows anyone 18 and older to enter, while splitting the club up so that alcohol is only available to the 21-and-over crowd.
Sianis believes the success also had to do with the Eugene club scene as a whole.
“This town needed something new and fresh,” said Sianis. “Timing-wise, we’ve been incredibly successful.”
According to the club’s employees, the success of The Jungle boils down to atmosphere.
“It’s just a great place to hang out,” bartender Jamie, who prefers to go by one name, said. “The music, the people; it’s just a great environment. Of all the dance clubs I’ve been to in Eugene, it’s the best.”
The Jungle is located at 23 West Sixth Ave.