Uncovering The Story Behind Mike's Apartment

A story about Mike's Apartment catapulted it to the top of New York's nightlife scene last week. The nondescript loft on Great Jones Street had it all; a quasi secret location, late night parties filled with rock stars and scenesters, and a promise that everyone would refrain from spilling the details of the wild nights in the loft. But a Gawker post sent bloggers on a scavenger hunt through Noho and now Mike's Apartment is known by everyone who buys a New York Post. So if everything was going so great, why would anyone want to let the world in on their secret and ruin the best after hours party going? It turns out that there is more to Mike's Apartment then just a guy who, while trying to break into the nightlife business, suddenly became the hostess with the mostest.

Let's start with the back story. From what our sources tell us, Mike is indeed from upstate, loves pickles, is trying to get a nightlife project off the ground, and has recently been hosting some wild late night parties in his Great Jones apartment. But what does Mike have that every other wannabe Ian Schrager lack?

The first thing Mike have is a relationship with a well connected promoter who goes by Vegas. This Vegas has been a successful promoter in New York for well over a decade and has worked at every major club and with every major operator during that time. He is also Axl Rose's tour guide when the aging rocker is in town and wants to party. We have heard that Vegas does some nights at Greenhouse these days, which is why Axl was spotted drinking there until 8 AM recently. He also hangs with the Black Eyed Peas, which is probably why they were spotted at Mike's Apartment with Axl last week.

That explains the nightlife connection, but why would a veteran promoter take such an interest in a guy from upstate who has an interest in pickles? It seems that from his time living on Great Jones Street, Mike has become chummy with his landlord, who also controls the Acme Food space on the ground floor. Although Acme is very much open for business, it seems that Mike has been offered the space if he can put together the right deal. Promoters hang around with Mike in the hopes that they can be involved with the space. This is the reason that there have been months of rumors about a multi-level Paul Sevigny Noho project that would have food, a performance space and an office/loft above. This is also the reason that Mike's Apartment was so publicly outed last week. The players involved have been unsuccessful at finding the money to pull it off, so the hope is that some publicity or the right guest would help them realize their dreams.

When we first heard the Sevigny/Acme rumors, a Little Birdy told us that the people involved were "way out there", and another source told us that when the rumors came out, the notoriously press shy Sevigny immediately moved along. We even hear one of Vegas's friends got physical with Beatrice co-owner Andre at a party at White Slab Palace, which probably not the best business decision one could make.

So there you have it. Mike's Apartment is certainly hosting some wild late night parties, but it's no different than any other late night loft party scene that New York has known. And when this one gets too big (cough), people will just move on to the next scene.
· The Simple Life, Mike's Apartment Is New York's Hottest Spot [~ENY~]
· Mike's Apartment, Secret Hotspot, No Longer Secret [~ENY~]