It is very possible to think you’re in a bigger city than Richmond upon entering Swingers, located in Shockhoe Bottom, at 12 N. 18th St. Perhaps DC, Los Angeles or San Francisco comes to mind. There’s just something about the blood red of the walls, the black trim of the bar and the dark mahogany color of the booths that says “I am urban and I am hip.” Ascend the steep staircase that starts on the inside of the entrance to discover a living room of sorts with multiple couches and chairs in a variety of colors for lounging. Venture farther down the hallway and into a larger room flanked by a stage on one end and a bar at the other. Conveniently nestled in front of the bar is a much-used pool table. As most well know, clubs are places where young people go to see and be seen, and with a name like Swingers, what other kind of place could this be? If you want red- carpet treatment, it helps to know one of the employees and to come when it’s not too crowded.

The urban image projected attracts young college students dressed in the latest fashion fad who crowd around the brightly lit bar area. Club hoppers gussied up for a night on the town encircle cocktail tables perched in the wall- sized windows. Sharply dressed twenty-something Fan rats and Church Hill dwellers filter upstairs to relax in the dimly lit lounge or to catch a local band rockin’ on the stage. If you can’t take it LOUD, bring some earplugs. You’ll need them in the cramped stage area.

Street-side parking is usually difficult, especially after 10PM on the weekends, but there is a public lot two blocks away. This is not just a club, but also a restaurant that serves entrees that have received very favorable reviews in the local Richmond papers. Greek and Italian specialties are available for dinner, such as homemade spanakopita or a jambalaya cream pasta. For lunch, yummy panini sandwiches are among the offerings. Swingers is part restaurant, part bar, part club. But don’t forget, since opening just last year, it’s been a prime spot to rub elbows with some of Richmond’s most beautiful people. -- K.L. Kreinar (Photo: Samuel Worthington)