Death to foam, long live the dance floor

For anyone who's been staring at that lonely latex bodysuit hanging in the closet, it’s time to stop weeping—The Cardinal (formerly Cardinal Bar) will be reopening under new management on Friday, Oct. 9. At 5 p.m., all of its former Fetish Night and dance-clubbing glory will be back, but just don’t expect any foam parties.

Ricardo Gonzalez was the owner of The Cardinal up until 2004, and he recently regained proprietorship after its unceremonious closing at the end of June. He’s installed a new natural wood dance floor to replace the well-worn tile—hence, “We will not be doing foam parties ever again”—as well as a shiny sound system that he says is “. . . built for acoustics and not loudness. It has a sweet sound.” Also sweet will be the Latin Jazz Happy Hours every Friday beginning at 5 p.m. (Mambo Blue will christen the space on opening night), to go along with more Latin jazz on Sundays at 9 and 11 p.m., and a regular “Rebirth Fridays” set by DJ Nick Nice.

Nice agrees with the whole rebirth concept: “There hasn’t been a consistent place to dance downtown for awhile,” says Nice. “I’m really excited. The old Cardinal crowd was always musically sophisticated—drop in an old song and everyone knew it, but they were always been open to new stuff, too. I plan on putting together fun, unpretentious nights."

The leather crowd can ready their riding crops for the first Fetish Night on Oct. 27, and they can expect four to six more throughout the year. Youngsters should be aware Thursdays will be the only 18-plus night, and even then a college I.D. will be required. With these exceptions, Gonzalez plans to keep The Cardinal pretty much the same as it always was—with a heavy emphasis on dance—though more specifically, exactly how it’s billed on any given night. “People stopped coming because they never knew what to expect,” says Gonzalez. “They thought it was ’80s night and they’d show up and it’d be hip-hop. We’re going to stick to our program.”