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Some say that the bustling Gaslamp Quarter has become saturated with nightclubs. But as far as Mike Viscuso, who owns two of the most popular - Belo and On Broadway - is concerned, adding one is simply a matter of coming up with the right concept.
Well, maybe not that simple.
Viscuso, 50, who heads the San Diego-based Visco Collection, says he expects to shell out as much as $5 million to transform Deco's, a restaurant he has operated on Fifth Avenue for three years, into an ultra-hip nightspot that will target a demographic of Asians between the ages of 25 and 35.
"Deco's, which was formerly the Redfish, was designed and built as a full-service restaurant and it had a big kitchen," he said. "When I came in I did minor remodeling with a South Beach Miami flair, but I didn't do remodeling like I normally do, which is to gut a place and create a clean palate."
While Deco's has been profitable, it could be more so as a nightclub with a higher percentage of alcohol sales than food sales, he says. Main Street & Main Inc., a Phoenix-based firm, owns the building and operated the Redfish, as it does the adjacent TGI Friday's.
The new club,...