Hawaiian Tropic Zone, located on the second floor at Seventh Avenue and West 49th Street in the heart of the tourist zone, is a restaurant and bar that has recently initiated a jazz policy. The restaurant (whose name is taken from the line of famous suntan products) originally opened in 2006 and occupied both floors of the corner location. In a recent interview, General Manager Cheryl Pashalian remarked, “We were pretty busy in the beginning and the waitresses were wearing bikinis and sarongs. This went over well with the male customers but the female customers weren't too thrilled.” The waitresses are now attired in tasteful black mini-dresses. “As time went on,” Pashalian said, “we weren't busy and the space was a lot of real estate. So the boss decided to downsize.”
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Hawaiian Tropic Zone, located on the second floor at Seventh Avenue and West 49th Street in the heart of the tourist zone, is a restaurant and bar that has recently initiated a jazz policy. The restaurant (whose name is taken from the line of famous suntan products) originally opened in 2006 and occupied both floors of the corner location. In a recent interview, General Manager Cheryl Pashalian remarked, “We were pretty busy in the beginning and the waitresses were wearing bikinis and sarongs. This went over well with the male customers but the female customers weren't too thrilled.” The waitresses are now attired in tasteful black mini-dresses. “As time went on,” Pashalian said, “we weren't busy and the space was a lot of real estate. So the boss decided to downsize.”
The restaurant underwent renovation, reopening this past May, utilizing a first floor entrance with the restaurant, bar and kitchen on the second floor. “We still were having a hard time due to the economy,” Pashalian explained, “so I decided to bring jazz in. I started on Thursday nights in July. People found out about the jazz quickly, so I decided to add Saturday. Saturday is really good. And then by August, I added Friday. With three nights, I get a nice flow.”
With a capacity of 209 people in both bar and table areas, the large rectangular space features two walls with windows overlooking both Seventh Avenue and 49th Street. These walls have horseshoe booths. The center space is a configuration of different sized tables. The third wall is the long bar with several large television screens on its back wall and access to the kitchen and back-of-the-house operations. The fourth wall is the entrance wall, which contains the performance space with more television screens behind it and the graceful staircase coming from the street floor. The television screens give the appearance of a sports bar (which it is not); it's almost as if they are substituting for wall decorations such as pictures or paintings. The best seats in the house for the music are the bar and the tables near the entrance wall since you cannot see the stage from the tables and booths in the back of the room. Despite the Hawaiian Tropic Zone name, the room does not have a Hawaiian or tropical décor. This includes the furnishings and a menu that is basic American fare offered á la carte or as a pre fixe dinner and a complete selection of beers, wines and liquor. The restaurant serves lunch from 11:30 am until 5 pm and dinner from then on. There is no cover or minimum, but with the addition of music, they may have to rethink that one and at least have a minimum drink policy.
There is a state-of-the-arts sound system installed, but no piano. The performers who have played the room so far have been ones who use keyboards. Pashalian went on to say that she “definitely wants to bring in a piano because it opens up the opportunity to book a wider variety of performers. I am working on the prospect of a piano now.” Appearing in the last few months have been Noah Preminger, Etienne Charles, Adam Larson, Dick Meldonian, Mark Devine, Frank Fontaine and Jerry Weldon. Pashalian admitted that she “has her favorites, but I like to bring in new people and having a piano would give me more players from which to choose. I have been using groups that feature horns, but it would be nice to have some piano trios or quartets in the mix and maybe singers. Having a piano really widens the scope of what we can offer.”
Pashalian also mentioned the possibility of a weekend brunch. “I tried regular brunch in this area and it's tough. As far as the tourists go, they have breakfast because they want to go out and do their thing or they have brunch in their hotel. I haven't tried a jazz brunch so I don't know if that might work. It may be worth looking into for the future,” she mused.
At any rate, jazz has one more address in midtown Manhattan, right in the heart of pricey major tourist territory. Once the news gets out that jazz has moved in, maybe it will be able to get a long-term lease and stay a while.
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