SINCE founding SBE Entertainment Group LLC in 2002, entrepreneur Sam Nazarian has made a name for himself as Hollywood's foremost nightclub impresario. But the...See more »
SINCE founding SBE Entertainment Group LLC in 2002, entrepreneur Sam Nazarian has made a name for himself as Hollywood's foremost nightclub impresario. But the 31-year-old businessman, who left college to start a telecommunications firm, has been branching out. There's his Element Films production company, his popular Katsuya Japanese restaurant in Brentwood and other pursuits. The son of Iranian immigrants who settled in Los Angeles after the Islamic Revolution, Nazarian credits much of his success to his father, Younes, a co-founder of chip maker Qualcomm Inc. Now, Nazarian has set his sights on the hospitality industry. He plans to open a high-end hotel on La Cienega Boulevard next year at the Le Meridien at Beverly Hills property. He claims it will rival the Peninsula but aimed at a younger clientele. Another hotel properly is slated for Miami. The Business Journal recently talked to Nazarian in his sleek Beverly Boulevard office, replete with marble and a wall of nearly a dozen flat panel televisions tuned to different channels. Question: SBE stands for Sammy Boy Entertainment. Did you ever think you'd be the head of a major company named "Sammy Boy?" Answer: No. Growing up Sammy Boy was my nickname. The first film deal I did my entertainment lawyer said, "OK, we need to set up an LLC." At the time I was just giving street addresses (for LLC names) because I was doing real estate deals. So he said, "Well what's your nickname, let's have fun with it." So I said Sammy Boy. I thought Sammy Boy wouldn't be as appropriate as SBE, so it became a little more institutionalized. Q: How did you get your start? A: I started my own telecommunications company when I was 20, Platinum Wireless. I started it on my own. At that time my family was in the telecom business; they were one of the founders of Qualcomm. So I wanted to do things on my own. Within one year we had 125 employees. And subsequently I sold it to diversify our family assets into real estate. Q: That's a long way off from starting clubs. A: After I came back from school at NYU I saw L.A. was really promoter driven; it was whatever warehouse the promoter told you to go to and (clubs) had a short shelf life, maybe six months. The operators didn't know how to operate; they let promoters run their doors. People would come from New York, big chefs, big names, and not understand how finicky L.A. is. If you are on the wrong side of the street, don't have an outdoor area or good valet, some things won't work. You have to live the market. And that's what we did. Q: Be more specific. A: What we did with SBE, we weren't just the owner of the nightclub. We focused on West Hollywood, and picked up dance licenses. I picked up the only dance license on La Cienega. The communities are strong and the licenses can't be duplicated again. There are only three dance licenses on Sunset Boulevard, our Time Square. Q: Where did the get the money to do this? A: I got the funding for my first nightclub from the proceeds of the sale of my telecommunications company. Q: When you were growing up in Los Angeles, did you go out to clubs? A: When I was in high school, there were a couple of major staples. There was the Gate, there was the Roxbury and the venues did the speaking. You planned your week around going to the Roxbury, kind of like Studio 54. Q: Your nightclubs, such as Hyde, have been hits with the Hollywood set. Explain their success. A: We have focused on spending money to build a product that is accessible to a demographic not just between 21 and 25. Hyde is for people who appreciate design. It is for people who appreciate the fact that we spent a good seven months on brand building, forgetting about construction. Hyde is the first time really ever in L.A. we've brought the sophistication of Milk & Honey or Double Seven in New York. It's really handmade drinks. It's not just a cool place. Once people come in there they see the amount of detail that went into this little place. Q: Sounds like a change for Los Angeles, which has not always been considered a good nightlife city. A:See less »
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