Sarah Walsh
Staff Writer
The new NRG club in Danville, a dance club for 16-20 year old kids, has undergone much controversy in its opening months.
Recently, the club was temporarily shut down by the Town of Danville.
NRG had a visit on Nov. 4 from the building inspector, fire district, and chief of planning to inspect the club.
“I was planning on going (to the club), and when I heard it was closed,” senior Princess Barco said. “I was disappointed because it was such a good idea and something for kids our age to do.”
Dave Casteel, code enforcement officer for Danville, said club owner Darrin Derita was missing several permits/approvals, including an approval from the town and fire department and a business license needed for him to keep his club open.
NRG club was forced to shut down to get these problems resolved. But, the situation didn’t seem to faze Derita.
“The city just wanted to do some life safety checks to make sure everything looked good,” said Derita.
NRG has a group on Facebook that advertises the club, which first drew concerns over the club’s safety.
Pictures posted on the page showed the club in an inappropriate manner, drawing attention.
“There were pictures on Facebook that were posted by someone who went to the club that could be viewed as inappropriate, so of course someone saw these photos and suggested that the place get checked out,” said Derita.
This didn’t come as a shocker to Derita.
“I expected this to happen,” he said. “The pictures could have sent the wrong message about the club.”
Police Officer Vince Richardson still has a positive outlook about teen clubs in general regardless of the problems with the club.
“I believe that teen clubs are a good idea,” Richardson said. “They are a fun place for kids to go dance and have fun just like proms, but they should have more control about who and what is let into the club, such as people, alcohol and drugs.”
There has been concern about the age range of kids that are let into the club, and that there should be a more focused age range to eliminate potential problems.
“If someone were wanting to open another club like this, they should not have the age range be too broad,” Richardson said. “In a 16-20 year old age limit club, there could be 14 year old kids posing as 16 year old kids.”
On Nov. 17, a final inspection was done to make sure the club met all of the safety requirements.
“The only outstanding item on the list is that the interior vital wall covering needs to meet the flame spread material rating by the fire district,” said Mike Leontiades, chief building official of Danville.
With this exception, Leontiades said all other permits are believed to have been turned in and approved.
That is good news for Derita because he recently fulfilled the final item left on the list of things to do.
“The club got authorization from the fire district and (Derita) is now cleared and authorized to open (NRG) again,” said Leontiades.
The club is scheduled to have its grand re-opening Jan. 6, 2012, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. The theme is “Stoplight Party,” which will feature DJ Crank and DJ Voni.
More than 3,000 people have been invited through Facebook.
NRG has some new and improved plans in store for when the club opens back up.
“The club will now be used for more promotive events (maybe three events per month), and will be rented out for private parties such as Sweet 16 birthdays,” said Derita.
Derita isn’t new to the club industry.
In 2004, he opened a club called the 680 Lounge in Danville in the same location in which the NRG club is now located.
NRG club started as Derita throwing a Sweet 16 party for his daughter, and turned into a full out teen club.
Now going back to the original party place idea, it looks like the club will end up being a really awesome place to hold parties.
