Nell's

The story

Nell's opened inside a former electronics store on West 14th Street in the fall of 1986, and that unlikely shell became one of Manhattan's most influential rooms. Decorated as a slightly shabby 19th-century English men's club, it arrived precisely when clubgoers were exhausting themselves on cavernous discothèques like Studio 54. Actress-singer Nell Campbell gave the place her name and ran it for years. Painter Thomas Moller managed it early on and drew New York's art scene through the door. Other exclusive supper clubs soon followed its lead. It closed May 30, 2004.