A ?Who?s Who? from Government, international and local business, the hospitality and retail sectors are expected to turn out this evening for an invite-only official reopening of the Deep Nightclub.

This is the first time MEF ? the owner of Deep as well as numerous other dining venues on the Island ? will host an event of this magnitude which is designed to introduce valued clients and other VIPs to the new club.

The state-of-the-art beachside nightclub closed just one year after opening to rave reviews due to Hurricane Fabian?s arrival in September 2003. While the Deep was not damaged directly, the category three hurricane forced its closure after destroying attached sister businesses Lido Restaurant, the Sea Breeze Cafe, and Mickey?s Beach Bar and Bistro. In the ensuing months, water saturated the club?s walls and caused erosion of the electrical system as well as damage to the furniture and other fixtures.

MEF turned the damage into an opportunity to tweak elements within the nightclub. The tweaks, which included improving the layout of the club and the flow of service ? ran MEF some $1.2 million ?and counting?. This sum is on top of the original $1.5 million MEF sunk into the club before it first opened in June 2002.

Although it still has many remnants of the past, the new Deep has undergone a slight change of concept.

With an improved lounge area on two floors and state-of-the-art sound, lighting and video systems it retains its focus as a nightclub but also offers plenty of other opportunities for use as well.

Lido Dining and Entertainment Complex manager Ennio Lucarini and Gioacchino (Jacky) Di Meglio co-owner of MEF throw out a number of ideas for the venue ranging from three-minute dating nights to singles nights, yoga and even private movie and sports showings. Live bands, dancing schools and specialised movie and sport nights are also on the radar. The group is also intending to serve food during the nightclub hours although this may take place outside at the Sea Breeze Cafe which is due to be completed this summer.

?We wanted to have a nightclub, but we wanted to also offer a place which could be utilised every night so it has a more lounge appeal to the place than anything else,? Mr. Lucarini said adding that the new furniture invites customers to sit down and have a drink and relax rather than simply spend their night dancing. ?That is why the whole layout of the club has changed completely. The lounge area, dance floor, upper floor is more relaxed and casual.?

The changes are in direct response to client feedback. Many expressed feelings that there was nothing happening in Bermuda during the week and asked for entertainment that would not see them stay out unwould not see them stay out until the wee hours of the morning on weekdays.

Management also envision the venue providing a more relaxed way for companies and organisations to hold meetings complete with PowerPoint presentations. The Deep?s dress code is smart elegant in recognition of a more relaxed trend in the business crowd.

?More modern companies are looking for less formal types of set ups where they can get people together to present their message to everybody, but not in a theatre looking at some guy talking to you. We have projection screens everywhere in the club where you can address the issues and everybody is in the room more relaxed,? Mr. Lucarini said.

Mr. Di Meglio said that the role of the Deep however is only complimentary to the MEF restaurants it is attached to. After opening the disco 2001, in 1971 and later opening The Club, MEF was quite happy to get out of the club business because it is so demanding. However Mr. Di Meglio said Lido?s position outside the city and below a major hotel prompted the group to create the Deep as a way to attract more clients to the restaurant.

?It is not a business we are counting on to get rich, but it is a business that we are counting on to make you feel that you want to get out of the city and go spend an evening here on the weekends,? he said adding that his group?s goal for the Deep was to create a place that is not like the spots found in Hamilton but is instead an ?oasis outside the city? where people feel safe and can go to enjoy the music of the club, the waves and the view without worrying about harassment.

MEF is poised to pull out all the stops for tonight?s event and each restaurant it owns in Bermuda will have a presence at the Complex tonight.

The Deep will also launch its new VIP programme tonight which Mr. Lucarini said they put together after significant research. The $2,000 package provides entry for the member and a guest as well as front of the line privileges and $1,500 in credit. When the Deep opens to the public, entry fees will be $30 per person although this fee is waived for Complex diners and halved for guests of Elbow Beach or other MEF restaurants.