Claire Harper Claire Harper | February 7, 2022 | People, Feature,
Thanks to Atlantan Ryan Rearden, new "megaclub" Domaine brings Sin City's electric energy straight into Midtown.
Following a stint in the Las Vegas nightlife scene, most recently as an executive with Drai’s Management Group, Atlantan Ryan Rearden headed back to his roots to make his longtime goal of venturing out on his own a reality. Now, the UGA grad is determined to give his city a fresh, new nightlife concept worth talking about. Say hello to Domaine (@domaineatl), ATL’s first “megaclub,” which also includes a day/pool club sector dubbed Midtown Beach Club, opening for a second season this spring. “The energy is intoxicating and there is nothing more satisfying than watching a crowd collectively lose its mind all at the same time because of an event that you have put together,” says the brains behind the Midtown project. “I’m constantly fighting not letting myself scream from the mountaintop about all the new offerings for this year,” adds Rearden. Eager to learn more about what’s on the horizon in 2022, we tapped the Atlantan for all there is to know about Domaine, Midtown Beach Club (@midtownbeach) and a few other buzzworthy additions coming this year.
Tell me about the decision to open your own nightclub and what your vision/inspiration was for this new nightlife experience. When I was at UGA, I sort of had an epiphany while I was running nightclubs and bars in Athens. It just felt right, and I really enjoyed the work—more so the energy, the connections with people, the constantly changing scene. I was happy in the chaos. I knew that if this was the career path I was going with, I wanted to do it at the highest level, so I made the decision to move to Las Vegas after school and give it a shot.
Getting back home to Georgia was always the idea. The culture here is nightlife to an extent, but it’s been over a decade since anything new or industry-changing has been in the city. I wanted to bring that new element to friends and family at home.
Why did you choose Atlanta for this new venture? There were two reasons. Selfishly, I wanted to get closer to family and back home in the South. Businesswise, there were a ton of reasons. Atlanta likes to represent itself as a nightlife city, but there hasn’t been anything groundbreaking in ATL since the mid-2000s. We recognized that the culture was already in place for a concept that is heavily entertainment driven, but there was a potential market deficiency in an industry that requires things to always be new and fresh.
What can Atlantans expect from Domaine? Domaine is what’s classified in our industry as a megaclub: a massive entertainment complex with multiple rooms that are driven [by] separate entertainment offerings. We’re working with some of the biggest artists in the world like Kaskade, Future, Zedd, Drake, David Guetta, etc., to bring that Miami/Las Vegas nightlife offering to the heart of ATL.
Walk us through a night at Domaine. The beauty of Domaine is that there isn’t a typical night. We’ve designed it in a way that we have patrons who desperately want to see a specific artist perform in an intimate setting, so they buy a ticket and just enjoy the show. We’ve also set it up like a Vegas-style club where the celebrities and affluent alike can come in and ‘show off.’ We have clients who come and want custom bottle presentations that they’re willing to pay big dollars for and really wow their friends or business associates. You also have the option to come in and just have a few drinks and experience the production. We want all nightlife-goers to have an aspect that they enjoy.
What’s your biggest hope for the future of Domaine? We want to be a part of the story that puts Atlanta on the map nationally. Currently, when you think of nightlife in major markets, there is almost always a specific venue that everyone knows. Miami has LIV or E11EVEN; New York has Tao and Marquee; L.A. has Warwick, etc. There currently isn’t that major staple that if you ask a random person from somewhere such as Kansas City, that they even know a spot in Atlanta. We want to be that staple that everyone knows about, whether they have ever been to the city or not.
Following the opening of Domaine, you opened Midtown Beach Club. What can Atlantans expect from a day spent at Midtown Beach Club? It’s really like a Vegas-style pool party. We start the day off with relaxing music and five-star, resort-style food offerings to let people either warm up, nurse a hangover, get relaxed, etc. As the day progresses, though, the chaos ensues, eventually reaching a full-blown pool party with people getting sprayed with Champagne, confetti and water cannons firing off, themed bottle presentations coming out and demanding all of the venue’s attention. In two words: controlled chaos.
What’s next for Domaine and Midtown Beach Club? We’re launching our performance series for Domaine in three genres: Latin, hip-hop and EDM. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be continuing to elevate the talent offering for the city. The same DJs and artists who have residencies in Las Vegas and Miami will be coming in town regularly so people don’t have to travel to go experience their shows.
MBC will open in spring. Now that we have proof of concept that Atlanta really does love the idea of a pool party, we’re renovating the venue even more, adding more offerings, and will be layering some programming.
A new concept will be opening shortly, as well, that will be focused on craft mixology and social media moments. This outdoor venue will be attached to the Solarium and will be L.A. lounge/New York City rooftop chic in its design, but inherently Southern in its offering. We think this is something that all Atlantans will enjoy!
Photography by: Patrick Heagney