Aqua nightclub reopens in Port Jefferson

In what may be a sign of a slightly improving economy, for some at least, the giant Danfords Hotel & Marina in Port Jefferson has reopened its Aqua nightclub, which had been closed for the past three years as the hotel underwent a renovation.

A good idea to bring back a nightclub in the midst of a recession?

Maybe so. Aqua had a preview opening last Friday night, and the place was packed, creating traffic jams in downtown Port Jefferson in the dead of winter.

"I think the average person still wants to set aside time to unwind and relax and have some fun," said Stewart Weiner, the hotel's general manager. "There's a lot of single people on Long Island and they want to meet somebody." Weiner said the hotel sold 10 rooms that night for nightclubbers who did not want to make the drive home.

Corporate business remains down, Weiner said, as companies continue to cut back on spending. Aqua, Weiner said, may act as an economic stimulus for the Port Jefferson Village area.

Weiner said he had received letters from people during the past three years asking when Aqua would reopen. Aqua, he said, draws from about a 10-mile radius of the village, although letters have also come from New Jersey.

"My gut told me the market would still be there, and I thought, let's do it before somebody else does," Weiner said.

The two-level, 6,000-square-foot club will be open Fridays from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. There is a $10 admission fee for non-hotel guests. Women must be 21 or older and men 25 or older.