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Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2009

Showtime Lounge hoping to attract broad mix of patrons

WARNER ROBINS — Arthur Johnson and Darreyl Bryant are combining a little of Florida and a little of Georgia and hoping it will attract a lot of different people to their new Showtime Lounge.

Opened this month in the former Secrets nightclub space in Houston Plaza near the corner of Houston Avenue and Elberta Road, Showtime features two bars, a large dance floor, VIP rooms and booths, a private party room, pool tables, video games and large-screen projection TV screens.

“We’re trying to make it a multiculture club that will draw people of all races and ages,” said Johnson, who has operated clubs in Florida in the past and recently promoted concerts at the Houston County Fairgrounds off Dunbar Road.

“We even want nights when senior citizens will feel welcome, maybe do some line dancing and karaoke on Monday nights for them, and have oldies music on Saturdays since we can’t sell drinks past midnight then, and the old folks want to get home early anyway,” Johnson said.

“But we’ll also have some rock, country, R&B and hip hop at times — whatever the people want.”

Johnson said plans now are to have more karaoke on Tuesday nights, ladies night on Wednesday, “get down” night on Thursday and live bands on Friday.

The large size also makes Showtime unique in Middle Georgia, he added.

“Most clubs around here seat 50 to 100 people. That’s not a club — that’s a hole in the wall. We can seat 400 and had close to 500 here the other weekend,” Johnson said. “We’ve got plenty of parking and good security, so we want everyone to feel welcome and safe.”

Bryant operated another Showtime in Fort Valley for four years before closing to partner with Johnson in Warner Robins.

“We want to bring in a lot of different kinds of artists and try to bring out everybody in the community,” Bryant said. “It’s a little bit of a bold move to try this while the economy is the way it is, but people still want a place to go and have fun and meet people. We think we can bring people in and show them a good time.”

Showtime opens at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday with its smaller pool room bar.

“We don’t have a set time to open the main bar, just whenever enough people get here that they need to move on over,” Johnson said.

He said the club will be available for private parties and receptions, and he plans to have fight nights and major sporting event parties so they can show them on the projection televisions.

For more information, call 225-6868 or go online to www.theshowtimelounge.com.

ROBINS REGIONAL BUSINESS EXPO

The 2009 Robins Regional Business Expo hosted by the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce is just around the corner. It is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Galleria mall in Centerville.

Chamber and non-chamber members will showcase their crafts, products and services. There will also be seminars offered, including “Keep Your Business Healthy” by Houston Healthcare and “The Best Kept Secret in Doing Business Better” by Donald Rhodes of the Georgia Small Business Development Center.

Those wanting to attend the seminars should register by e-mailing Donna Scott at dscott@warner-robins.com. Call 922-8585 for information.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION AT BUSINESS FORUM

Ivan Allen, president of Middle Georgia Technical College, and Dan Stone, manager of community development for Flint Energies and Houston County’s Georgia Work-Ready team leader, will talk about technical education in the Robins region and how it and the Work-Ready program can help businesses grow at the monthly Robins Regional Business Forum at noon Friday.

The lunch meeting will be at the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce, 1228 Watson Blvd. Call 922-8585 for information.

PERRY CELEBRATES HOME-BASED BUSINESSES

The Perry Area Chamber of Commerce will celebrate home-based businesses this week at its First Friday networking event at 7:30 a.m. Coffee and muffins are provided from at the chamber office, 101 Gen. Courtney Hodges Blvd., Suite B.

Call Bonnie Giles at 987-1234 for information.

To contact writer Chuck Thompson, call 923-6199, extension 235.