Hard Rock opening July 7 with a big bang

By MARY PEREZ

Rise Lounge at the Hard Rock Casino is number 26 for Rande Gerber, who creates restaurants, bars and nightclubs worldwide and has designed his new place in Biloxi to be both a comfortably chic lounge and energetic nightclub.

“I can’t wait until opening weekend,” said Gerber, who will be there with his wife, model Cindy Crawford, for the festivities.

The official grand opening of Hard Rock Casino is July 7 and besides concerts by 3 Doors Down and Gerber’s friend Kid Rock, visitors can expect “a couple of surprises as well that weekend,” Gerber said. “Some good ones.”

Among the unexpected will be the contrast of the sleek design of Rise Lounge and the amazing penthouse views of the water and the city rising after Hurricane Katrina.

“I come up with the concept and design ideas,” said Gerber. For Rise Lounge Biloxi, the floor-to-ceiling windows and 180 degree views were showcased, and the designers incorporated hanging mirrored copper globes and a crystal-encrusted Rise logo.

“I love the creative aspect of it,” Gerber said, “but also opening it and seeing everyone there having a good time and dancing and talking. For me it’s the greatest thing. I always feel like it’s my party every night and whether I’m there or not it goes on.”

Occasionally Rise Lounge will have performers, but most of the music that ranges from Southern rock to hip-hop comes from the outstanding sound system and “great DJs that are the maestros. They really understand how to read the crowd and what they’re looking for.”

Specialty cocktails are created for all Gerber’s bars, and a mixologist in the corporate office comes up with Almond Joy martinis and other exotic concoctions. A limited bar menu will come from the hotel restaurant.

Gerber envisions locals stopping by after work to watch the sunset on the terrace, and before and after the live shows every Thursday at Hard Rock’s live venue.

“Our places turn into really a great local place,” he said, yet he also expects friends who frequent his Whisky Blue bar in New Orleans and his other places around the country and world to drop by.

“They always do,” he said.

Gerber is involved in every last detail of all his clubs. “I really build them for myself and what I want from a bar or a restaurant or a club,” he said. “I’ve been lucky that other people appreciate it.”

Source: Sun Herald