26 | OutBoise Magazine | NEWS
OutBoise.com | Issue 6.2 | April 2015
What’s New at The Balcony
by Gary Simpson
Things have been moving and
shaking over at The Balcony Club.
It has been six months since the
club changed hands, and Emre
Houser took charge of making the
club the best it can be.
The Balcony has been a part of
our community for over 18 years,
and was voted Boise Weekly’s
“Best Gay Bar” for 10 years running,
and “Best Dance Club” for seven
years now.
According to Houser, taking over
the club was a big challenge. As a
straight man, he was highly concerned with the community’s reaction to his acquisition of the venue.
But, these fears were quickly
dispelled. Despite his initial lack of
knowledge of the industry, Houser
has proven several times over, that
he is able to rise to the challenge.
“The first couple of months I spent
trying to ramp up my knowledge
as much as possible.” He said. “
We’ve gotten past that point, but
still a bunch of learning to do on
my part. We are now at the point
of changing and improving things.
Some have been visible to our
patrons, and others are behind
the scenes kind of changes. All of
them, however, have been made
to improve the employee and
customer experiences, with an eye
on raising the bar and making The
Balcony the best place to be.”
A few of the improvements to the
bar have already
taken place, including refinishing
the dance floor, fresh paint, and
a newly installed sound system.
Houser also reports that he and the
staff took to the difficult challenge
of cleaning up the ceiling , as well.
“We had dust bunnies EVERYWHERE. It was difficult to see at
night, but very embarrassing during
the day,” he added.
As for the newly installed sound
system, Houser reports the sound
as “phenomenal - loud, but crystal
clear.”
Houser also made note of the
calendar they’ve installed in their
facility. Located right at the entry
of the bar, he hopes to keep patrons informed of local events, and
provide he and his staff a medium
to communicate with everyone.
He also provides a space on this
wall to allow for customers to provide feedback as well.
“We want to hear the good, bad
and ugly,” Houser added.
The club boasts four rotating DJs
every week to help keep the music
fresh, and bring different styles to
the club.
The most recent project, which
should begin to take shape, is
freshening up the outdoor tables.
Houser hopes thee improvements
will improve the overall experience
from anyone who stops in.