Gordon Polatnick's business plan, he concedes, was heavy on the things that fueled his daydreams and too light on almost everything else.
The idea itself was simple. On the blocks in Harlem where Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker performed, Mr. Polatnick would open a nightclub. But it would do business during the day, charge no cover and sell soft drinks instead of liquor to encourage a family atmosphere.
Never mind that the particular stretch of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard that he had chosen was not among Harlem's most commercially viable addresses, or that there was no evidence of a huge demand for jazz on weekday afternoons.
There were other drawbacks. In particular, this stretch of Harlem has gentrified more slowly than others, leading one to wonder who might have the disposable time that would allow them to go to a nightclub on a weekday.
But for a while, it worked.
The idea itself was simple. On the blocks in Harlem where Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker performed, Mr. Polatnick would open a nightclub. But it would do business during the day, charge no cover and sell soft drinks instead of liquor to encourage a family atmosphere.
Never mind that the particular stretch of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard that he had chosen was not among Harlem's most commercially viable addresses, or that there was no evidence of a huge demand for jazz on weekday afternoons.
There were other drawbacks. In particular, this stretch of Harlem has gentrified more slowly than others, leading one to wonder who might have the disposable time that would allow them to go to a nightclub on a weekday.
But for a while, it worked.
