Tucked away in downtown Charlottesville at 218 West Water St., the DJs at Club 216 spin off pop and hip-hop techno remixes of Janet Jackson and 'N Sync. People of both genders and ages spanning from late teens to middle age lounge, talk and dance. The club, which is celebrating its seventh anniversary this year, is Charlottesville's only openly gay club.
The club has a dance floor, two pool tables, two bars and ample tables and chairs to provide space for laid-back socializing. Groups of all ages hang out over drinks; clubbers sport a range of clothing that stretches from casual to dressy. Straight and gay couples populate the dance floor and relax in chairs surrounding the pool tables. Black lights, disco balls and rainbow flags adorn the inside of the club.
Signs posted on the walls and at the entrance read, "Club 216 is primarily a gay-owned and gay-operated club. If you are uncomfortable with the gay lifestyle or find it objectionable then this club is not for you." But even though Club 216 publicizes itself as a predominately gay establishment, it also manages to draw crowds of straight people.
Sandy Miller, who is from Staunton, is straight and has been attending the club for two years after being introduced to it by her best friend, who is gay.
"It's a good place to hang out," Miller said.
Another straight club member, 22-year-old Philip Logarides, has been a member for a year.
"It's a friendly place and there's not any violence," Logarides said of the hotspot. He said he enjoyed the amazing diversity of people who occupy the club and that the bar is open until 5 a.m., which is much later than the 2 a.m. closing time of other bars in the area. Club 216 is a private club - only registered members and their guests are allowed inside.
First-time Club 216 attendee Brandon Austin is a straight Charlottesville resident who's casually dressed in an orange T-shirt and jeans. Austin said Club 216 has "a pretty mellow atmosphere."
While most straight guests tend to congregate at the club because of its long drinking hours and laid-back scene, gays still comprise many of the attendees.
Kendra, a 27-year-old man who prefers being known by this single adopted name, has attended Club 216 since it opened.
"I really enjoy being around gay and straight people," he said. "I can be myself here; I'm really comfortable here and I get to hang with my friends 'cause I don't get to see them much."
Mike Megliola, a second-year College student, is a member of Club 216.
"The first time I went was at the beginning of last semester [spring]," Megliola said. He visits Club 216 because "it's the only place in Charlottesville that consistently plays 'real' dance music." He also enjoys the relaxed atmosphere and casual dress code.
The club is "a safe space for gay people," he said, adding that he was surprised and glad to find such a venue in the Charlottesville area.
Megliola generally travels to the club with a group of friends from the University. "I don't tend to meet people there," he said. "But it's such a small community in Charlottesville that a lot of people know each other and there's a friendly mood."
In his experience, "the crowd straightens out around 2 ... but it doesn't get any less gay-friendly" after that time, he said.
Generally, Megliola remarked, "for someone like me who had very little experience with gay culture before coming to college, it gave me a perspective I didn't know was out there."
Clyde Cooper, the manager of Club 216, says that by being a private club, it is allowed to serve drinks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while restaurants cannot serve after 2 a.m.
"I absolutely love it," said Cooper of his job at Club 216, which he says is the "only openly gay club in west/central Virginia ... We are very proud of our people."
Cooper said he thought the straight population was a little nervous about the club when it first opened.
"But after we got to know each other it's been wonderful," he said of the last five years he has worked there.
He considers the 50/50 gay/straight ratio of club patrons to be a very healthy mix. And Cooper said Club 216 is happy to share its dance floor with the straight population.
According to Cooper, Club 216 now has about 1,500 members. The members elect a seven-person board of directors, all of whom are unpaid volunteers. The board of directors in turn hires the manager, and the club is operated by the Piedmont Triangle Society. Because the board is non-profit, much of the money raised at the club goes directly back into improving the club itself.
Cooper prides himself on the club's adherence to its rules.
"At Club 216, if you are underage you can't drink and we don't tolerate violence," he said. Security guards float around the dance area in black shirts with green glow-in-the-dark lettering that reads "Security" to enforce the non-violence code.
Cooper said the impetus for the club's creation "was to put out a safe place for gay people to come to meet other gay people." Fifteen years ago many people were afraid to openly admit that they were gay, but it's less of a big deal now, he said.
The "very little tension" between straight and gay crowds is mostly because of the open-minded patrons that frequent Club 216, Cooper said. "The presence of a gay club in this area has done a great deal to reverse attitudes towards gay people."
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