Straddling the Virtuous between Millennials and Gen Z
There’s a new place in SM City CDO Uptown’s North Wing which promises to deliver a unique entertainment experience straddling two generations.
“Virtue Luxury Lounge primary target market are persons aged 28-42 years,” said Kenji Galam in an exclusive interview with CDO Bloggers Mindanaoan Meets the World and Metrocdo.com. “However, our place leans more towards Millennials aged 41 years and up.”
Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of the new Generation Z (or Gen Z).
Together with partner and Virtue Luxury Lounge Operations Manager Enen Isadyl Echavez Roa, Kenji said the place leans towards older persons who are virtuous (i.e., having good moral behavior and qualities such as honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control and prudence), which are developed through learning and practice, and generally gained through experience and maturity.
“Virtue is a Luxury Lounge is not a speakeasy,” Kenji notes. “It’s a place where there is house music, which is generally 80s music, since we focus on a more mature audience.”
“We asked several friends in that age group who told us they can’t find a place here in Cagayan de Oro where that kind of music is played, so we stick to the genres of 80s music, so they can be comfortable and assured it’s the kind of ambience they find when they come here,” Enen added.
From 9PM onwards, the house music is served live by DJs led by RB Banaag and the Amplified Group.
Inspired by the luxurious Revel at the Palace nightclub and lounge in Uptown BGC /The Fort, and the Arcana Restaurant & Bar at the Outdoor Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan, a casual visitor will instantly feel the vibe you’re in for a relaxing casual experience in the lap of luxury.
Designed by Ar. Christian Abejo, indeed no other place in Cagayan de Oro can match the relaxed sophistication of the entire place with its super comfy chairs and cozy booths, and its impressive bar next to the entrance with its beautiful array of drinks, glass and lights framing the V logo for Virtue.
Although Virtue Luxury Lounge marks the first time the Galam Group has ventured into the bar business, Kenji said their experience in room building taught them they can do good bars based on their experience in making rooms for their previous two KTV lounges.
Open daily from 10AM to 3AM, breakfast is served till 12nn, followed lunch and dinner till 7PM onwards when it becomes the Luxury Lounge. However, if there are still a lot of people lounging around by 3PM, Virtue can remain open as long as they like.
The entire lounge can be booked exclusively for social events and can accommodate 60 persons inside and another 20 al fresco outside. During its dry run prior to the November 26 opening, the lounge was the venue for birthdays, class reunions, and corporate holiday parties.
Actually, Virtue Luxury Lounge was conceived as an extension for the adjacent 80 Degrees KTV since the latter had customers coming in big groups of 40 or more which couldn’t be accommodated in 80 Degrees whose largest room could only take 30 persons.
“So we consider Virtue as the “10th room” of 80 degrees, whose nine rooms can only accommodate from five to 30 persons,” Enen said. 80 Degrees KTV has 9 luxurious KTV rooms, with the latest State of the Art KTV techs.
“Since we opened 80 degrees last August, we did not quite hit the target we expected,” Kenji admits. “Based on our experience(with their Galam Music Lounge in Carmen and The Cave Karaoke & Lounge at The Warehouse along Corrales Avenue), we noticed a KTV thrives more if it doesn’t stand alone. We noted people would go from KTV to bars and back, thus Virtue was conceptualized as a complement to 80 Degrees.”
While only food is served in 80 Degrees, customers can order cocktails and coffee from Virtue and have it served in 80 degrees. They also serve wines and local beer except Stallion.
“Among the best sellers we have had so far are Piña Colada and Strawberry Colada for drinks, and especially our Kinilaw Malasugi (which our customers say is the best in Cagayan de Oro), roast beef, beef salpicao, and crispy pata, which we all cook and mix in-house,” Enen disclosed.
On a final note, guests are advised of the dress code for ladies (no slippers or flip flops) and men (no shorts or sando). Since the entire North Wing and SM area is a no-smoking zone, not even vapes are allowed in the al fresco area (wink, wink!).
For a closer look at Virtue Luxury Lounge and 80 Degrees KTV, check them out today at the 2nd Level, North Wing, SM City CDO Uptown, call 0926-251-1604 or through personal messenger at their social media pages. You can also take this virtual tour with Mindanaon.com-Mindanaoan Meets the World to see what the excitement is all about.
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