A Wichita nightclub that welcomes 18-and-up crowd will be back in business this weekend
Before it closed in January, Club Rodeo at 10001 E. Kellogg was a popular hangout for the 18-and-over crowd, and owners would pack them in on weekend nights.
Now, the club has new owners, a new name — Midnight Rodeo — and a whole new interior. But when the club reopens this weekend, just as COVID-19 cases are spiking locally, the new owners are counting on not packing them in.
Crowds have been down in Wichita overall, said Austin Henry, the club’s assistant manager. And even though the cavernous, 26,000 square-foot-club — which will still be open to an 18-and-over crowd — has room for hundreds of patrons, it also has lots of room for social distancing. The owners say they anticipate smaller than normal crowds considering the pandemic.
Though they won’t be policing mask compliance, they said, they’ll provide masks for free to anyone who enters. They also will have temperature checks at the door, hand sanitizer stations placed throughout the club, and for now, they’ll hold off on live music.
“Little things like that are going to make people feel more welcome, more safe to be stepping out instead of making them feel like they’re taking a big risk,” Henry said.
The club, whose owners also have Fever night club in Old Town, will try a soft opening both Friday and Saturday nights this weekend, when doors will be open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. There will be no cover charge between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., and during that time period, the club will also offer select half-price drinks.
The grand opening will follow next weekend, and for starters, the club will be open only on Friday and Saturday nights. As the COVID-19 situation improves, weekday hours will likely be added, Henry said.
Like its predecessor, Midnight Rodeo will be a country-and-western bar that will offer dancing and mechanical bull riding. The big space that Club Rodeo used for live bull riding has been turned into a massive stage, where the owners hope to put local, regional and national bands in the future.
The centerpiece of the club is a new 2,700 square-foot raised wooden dance floor that has bar stools lining every side. Above the dance floor is a four-sided jumbotron that plays music videos along with country songs. The club has new technology that will allow patrons to send selfies and Tweets to the screens throughout the evening.
The cover charge will be $12 for women ages 18 to 20, $15 for men ages 18 to 20 and $7 for anyone age 21 and older.
The club will serve concession items like nachos, pizza, popcorn and wings, but that won’t be up and running for the first couple of weeks, Henry said.
The club also has a game room that will feature pool tables and video games.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
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