Ala Moana has new jewel

Pearl's VIP grand-opening party brings out the movers and shakers

AFTER A decade amongst the beautiful people at the Ocean Club, Beau Mohr has cultivated his own Pearl for the local night-life scene.

Pearl Time: Ala Moana Shopping Center (Ho'okipa Terrace, mauka side) Place: Open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Sundays (open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays) Call: 944-8000 On the Web: www.pearlhawaii.com

With $2.2 million invested and an empty space in Ala Moana Center's Ho'okipa Terrace as his oyster, he assembled a talented management team and set about finding a staff that would elevate his customers' experience to the next level.

And based on reactions by guests during Pearl's grand opening last week, he's definitely on the path to success.

"I actually had a tear in my eye," said Mohr. "I was looking around earlier when we were doing the opening ceremony ... and I almost started crying because it's finally happened, you know?"

IT WAS a who's who of local celebrities and scenesters last Tuesday, when Mohr opened the doors at Pearl for the VIP party.

Night-life veterans Tom Moffatt, Yvonne Elliman and Al Waterson mingled with Honolulu's next generation of entertainers, including singers Camile Velasco and Jordan Segundo, deejays Kutmaster Spaz and Mike D, and promoters Justin Yoshino and Rick Rock. Local television stations were well represented, with KHNL/KFVE's Walter Makaula and KITV's Jill Kuromoto and Dave Hisaka all in attendance. Print media was represented by SMART Magazine's Sarah Honda and Molly Watanabe, MidWeek columnist Joji Yoshida and fellow Star-Bulletin columnist John Heckathorn.

Guests sipped on complimentary cocktails and miniature bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne as they explored the Y-shaped room with three full bars and a dedicated VIP area just off the dance floor. Paul Brandon, a staple on the turntables during Mohr's days at the Ocean Club, has also made the move to Pearl and will serve as head resident deejay.

The main bar, which doubles as a runway during fashion shows, is just off to the left of the main entrance. Veer to the right, and a walkway leads to the "lanai bar," with glass windows overlooking the Ala Moana parking deck. Tables and couches line the perimeter both at this bar and the one adjacent to it, and a number of LCD screens are situated around each area.

Look around and you're bound to see similarities in design between Pearl and other local venues. But instead of focusing on things that remind you of the Ocean Club, O Lounge or W Honolulu, keep in mind that nightclubs around the country are constantly borrowing ideas from their counterparts in other cities. The "ultra lounge" concept in Hawaii is patterned after those in Las Vegas and Miami Beach, so it's no surprise to see more than one local club using accent curtains or plush couches to make things feel more elegant.

WHAT SETS Pearl apart from its local competition is the management.

General Manager Alvin Yeh grew up in Honolulu, graduating from Moanalua High School before moving to the mainland to attend the University of Nevada at Las Vegas on a soccer scholarship.

"For the most part, my employment over the past decade has been in Vegas nightclubs," the 31-year-old explained earlier this week during a phone interview. "I opened the Rum Jungle in the infancy stages of bottle service, when Vegas was still growing (and) wasn't the nightclub mecca it is now."

After the Rum Jungle at Mandalay Bay, Yeh tended bar at Studio 54 in the MGM Grand before moving on to help open Tabu in the same hotel. He then returned to Mandalay Bay to help open the Mix, and most recently worked as a nightclub VIP services manager during the opening of the Wynn Resort.

But Hawaii was still his home, so the opportunity to come back and start a new club from scratch was an appealing proposition. "This is the perfect gig," he said. "I'm more excited (being) here than I would be anywhere else."

Mohr has also worked with Vegas-based mixologist Francesco Lafranconi to develop a signature cocktail menu, which includes drinks like the "Pearl Martini," "Vanilla Rose" and "Lilikoi Dream." He hired local consultant Philana Bouvier to help flesh out the beverage program and assist with marketing duties.

And Pearl benefits from the expertise of chef Donato Loperfido, who developed the food menu and will oversee the kitchen staff.

"We're still not finished but everything looks OK," said Mohr. "We've got a lot of neat stuff that I think the people of Honolulu will enjoy."