1Oak has every intention of staging a permanent comeback, as Page Six reported last week. Owner Richie Akiva celebrated his 50th birthday there on Saturday and teased that the club is here to stay.
“I’m just glad we’re back home. I’m glad to give NYC a home again,” the nightlife impresario told a crowd that included Busta Rhymes, Trey Songz, Tyriq Withers and Zack Bia.
Akiva’s birthday celebration comes on the heels of our reporting that he and partner Darren Dzienciol, who operated 1Oak LA, are now able to open the original 1Oak space on West 17th Street 12 times a year for pop-ups or private events.
The club shuttered during the pandemic, and they were eventually evicted from their 453 W. 17th St. address after owing over $1.8 million in rent. (Akiva’s rep previously told us the funds were recouped.)
Sources told us Akiva is working on opening a permanent location somewhere downtown in February.
In the meantime, he’s keeping it alive as he plots its comeback — and old school partiers are all too eager to pop bottles at the club that was once a staple for Hollywood A-listers like Rihanna, Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
We’re told Saturday night felt like the club’s heyday with revelers begging to be let inside.
At around 3:30 a.m. “everyone started moving from the main floor into the basement room, and both corridors leading downstairs were filled with people trying to talk their way inside. It genuinely felt like 2016 all over again,” a source told Page Six.
Art dealer Helly Nahmad, Juan Andrade and Akiva’s hospitality comrade, Tao Group’s Noah Tepperberg held court downstairs. DJ Cruz, DJ Spade and Marty Rock provided the tunes and in typical Akiva party form, the nightlife king was perched above the DJ booth, where he addressed his crowd throughout the night.
At one point, Akiva got emotional, honoring his sister, telling the crowd he wouldn’t be here without her, we’re told.
“Breaking Bad” stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul made up for their absence by supplying the party with bottles of their Dos Hombres tequila. The party continued downtown at Socialista after they shut down 1Oak at 5 a.m.