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Owner hopes to attract young professionals to Opulence Ultra Club
By HILARY STOHS-KRAUSE / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Mar 24, 2006 - 12:01:29 am CST

When Robert Adams was trying to pick a name for his new nightclub, there were several things he wanted to convey: a lavish club, centered around the visitors, that offered something new for Lincoln residents.

While flipping through the dictionary for inspiration, he came across the entry for “opulent.”

It worked. Ultimately, Adams settled on the name Opulence Ultra Club.

“It was a name I wanted to stand out,” he said.

The club opened at 1033 O St. on Nov. 4. So far, Adams said, response has been positive.

“People were looking for something they could appreciate,” he said. “Our patrons value coming here, and they show that by returning weekly.”

The club is mainly geared toward 25- to 34-year-old young professionals. That crowd had already become used to, and bored with, the O Street bar scene, however. “They don’t like going downtown anymore … but obviously we’re succeeding because we’re seeing business grow every week,” he said.

Adams, who turns 32 in April, was raised in Lincoln. He learned the nightclub trade in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Las Vegas.

In June of 2000, after his friend was killed in Omaha, Adams went to the West Coast to visit his aunt and uncle.

“I kind of needed to step away from the lifestyle I was living and focus on what I wanted to accomplish,” he said.

While in Santa Barbara, Adams enrolled in a hospitality and management school and later moved to Las Vegas and worked as a manager at various bars and clubs.

Once back in Lincoln, Adams started scouting for a location for a nightclub of his own.

His goal was to provide Lincoln with something new, something out of the ordinary.

“I wanted to approach this nightclub right,” he said. “I wanted to redefine the way Lincolnites view the nightlife.”

Opulence Ultra Club is a bar, dance club and lounge rolled into one. It mainly plays popular music, Adams said, focusing on Top 40, dance and hip-hop, but resident DJ Loco plays as many requests as he can.

“We consider ourselves kind of like a ‘Total Request Live,’” Adams said. “If you don’t give people what they want, you’re not going to be successful.”

There is a dress code, Adams said, but the way people present themselves is most important.

“We wanted people to realize that sweatpants and a pair of flip-flops in January isn’t how you go to the club,” he said. However, just because someone’s wearing a T-shirt doesn’t mean he or she won’t be admitted.

“It’s all about attitude,” he said. “If you come to our front door and you have a good attitude, we’ll let you in.”

The club’s current capacity is around 475, but once construction of the new martini bar is completed, that should hold about 700. Adams said he hopes to have the bar open by July.

Beginning in mid-April he hopes to bring in local bands as well as starting karaoke nights.

“We just want people to realize that we’ll spend money to make money, because we know that’s what it takes to be successful,” he said. “And so far, it seems to be a good return for us.”

Reach Hilary Stohs-Krause at 473-7254 or hstohs-krause@journalstar.com.