ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A chic new nightclub is coming to downtown Allentown, and it will kick off with an appearance by a former reality-TV-star-turned-DJ.
Americus Nights will be on the lowest level of the Americus Hotel, a refurbished historic hotel in the heart of Allentown at Sixth and Hamilton streets, hotel owner Albert Abdouche said.
It will hold a grand opening at 8 p.m. March 14 with open format DJ Jon Gosselin, formerly a star of the reality TLC TV show, "Jon and Kate Plus 8."
"We like him. He's a popular guy, people know him, and we wanted to get someone who people would want to come and see, and see the place, as well."Americus Hotel owner Albert Abdouche, speaking about Jon Gosselin
The event will be combined with a St. Patrick's Day event for ages 21 and older. Admission prices were not revealed.
"We like him," Abdouche said of Gosselin in a telephone call. "He's a popular guy, people know him, and we wanted to get someone who people would want to come and see, and see the place, as well."
The nightclub will be a place worthy of seeing, Abdouche said.
He called it a "one-of-a-kind intimate venue" lounge and nightclub with a dance floor, granite bar and historic ambiance featuring exciting lighting and unique decor.
It will have room for 250 people, with a VIP area and three private sections with 2-3 tables each, he said.
"There will be great lighting and decor; it will look like you're in the [19]80s," he said.
Elevated DJ booth
Abdouche said the feature about which he is most excited is that a DJ station will be above the bar, giving the entire floor a clear view at the disc jockey.
"You don't see that anymore," Abdouche said. "I think we'll be the only one in the Lehigh Valley that has it."
A week after Gosselin's appearance, on March 21, will be popular Lehigh Valley DJ Andrew Highland, and DJ Smiith, also well known in the Lehigh Valley, will be spinning on March 28.
Abdouche said the nightclub will be open Fridays and Saturdays to start, "and we'll see in the future how it works."
Live band entertainment would be the next phase of programming, Abdouche said.
Music will cover the 1980s through the 2010s, he said.
The Americus Hotel has long had a connection with music. Punk rock godfathers The Ramones played at the hotel as recently as the 1990s.
Gosselin starred in "Jon and Kate Plus 8" from 2007-17, when he and Kate Gosselin divorced.
A Berks County native, he then transformed into an in-demand DJ, leveraging his exposure from the show's 10 million viewers.
