747 Club of Rochester

The First Classic Club Night was a honor to be part of. The music just takes you back in time when life seemed so much simpler. Being a part of the DJ line up was so much fun. I hope this will grow into a annual event that allows more people to get the enjoyment I did!

DJ Chris D

BRING BACK THE GOOD OLD DAYS... OK we're doing it!! Classic Club Night This Sunday, July 3, 2011, 9p to 2a, at Tilt, 444 Central Ave, downtown Rochester. Where is that? Tilt's in the old Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant. I'm Bill Levy, the former GM at 747 from 82-86. I also put the sound systems in Heaven, Maxwells Silver Hammer & Club 2 on 2. Then I ran Pandamonium, Diamonds, Centers At High Falls, and I still have JB's in Wellsville that I opened in April 1980!! This Sunday some of the top DJ's in Rochester's history - Bobby Adams, Mike Dailor, DJ Lino, Chris Diguardi, Mark Maddalina, Ranger Rick, and me - will spin your fav classic party tunes. Some breaking out their old 12 inch vinyl and turntables!! Remember Diamonds famous House Party Special. It's back too. Every single drink in the house $2.50 9-11. Free admission for everybody 30+. $3 for 21-29. More info at www.classicclubnight.com

Hey all, former 747 DJ Mike Dailor checking in. Wow, do I ever remember a lot of you! Disco Bob, awesome to see your face again. :) I was there through the Sam/Lou/Jimmy/Tony years in the 70s, and then again for Bill's 1st "remodeled" version in the 80s. Sadly I didn't own a camera back then, so all I have are a couple of 747 Hurricane glasses and a great pile of 12" records to physically recall those years, but wow, what memories. Were any of you guys there on the last night of the "original" club when Tom was cutting up the bar with a chainsaw and handing out pieces as souveniers? And how about the staff "goodbye" party that weekend when we rented out the Kanona B cabin at the lake park in Webster? Ahh, good times, yessir.

Mike
http://MikeDailor.com

OMG...Larrys Golden Grill....wasn't that on Lake Ave next to the Penny Arcade??

Oh my GOD...what a flashback...stumbled on this site and holy cow,,the memories..Bob was spinning..Spike was pouring and Tom was at the door..Levi...remember him too...seems like a lifetime ago...I remember 'unofficially' checking id's at the door..first time I ever fell in love was on the dance floor at 747..broke a heart I never meant to..wow....*sigh* ..if I could turn back time.......grown old with grown kids of my own.....I still tell them stories when I drive thru Henrietta...now I hafta go look everybody up on Facebook....

Does anyone remember a Kenny Lee, he would have been around in the late 70's was told he was like a promoter or manager or something,could be under a different name but known to me as Kenny Lee

Was I just imagining it or did I used to have a blast at a place called Larry's Golden Grill?

If you want to see some old 747 memorbilia, Its at Taylor's disco in Pittsford by the coat check. Tony wanted some stuff to fill the showcase so he asked me for my 747 stuff. I'll see if I can find other pics too.

I gotta agree highly with Fernando. Clapton was and still is the master !!
Tim Hemmerich

Tim Hemmerich. Fernando lives in Webster and would still rather listen to Eric Clapton that disco anytime!

disregard the previous post by me my mind is gone !

This is for Tim Hemmerich..do I know you ? I am Pams "little sister'..lived with her in Rocha cha...Last I heard Jimmy Panz had a place in Rochester, East Ave I think..I too wondered where Jimmy the bartender from Yesterdays is..and whats his last name..I loved the DJ with the fro..he saved me from Pam one nite ! What was his name ! I cant recall...hope to hear from you..Lori

Back in 1979/1980 there was a Disco Club called The Subway @ the old Sunset plaza on Chili Ave. and of course up the road, was 2001. Wow, the good ole days! I met my first real girlfriend at the Subway and after 28 years we got reunited.

Wow! A shout out to all the 747 Alumni! All the great memories and these comments are quite recent too. During one summer I was one of the two valet parking attendants and then in the winter I was one of the busboys. Wednesday nights were Theme Nights. One of them was Sports Night and there was a karate demo-I was in that too!

How about the other clubs in Rochester?: The Freight House in East Rochester, 2001 in Chili, Club 2 on 2 in Brockport, Hobo's Alley on Monroe Ave., THe Inferno on Goodman, The Winfield on Winton-I know there are a lot I'm missing.

I specifically remember Brad Silver (Security), Nadia and Lori (bartenders)-does anybody remember Lori's famous "Strawberry" drink? Lori is now married to Tony Sapienza and they own Taylor's in Pittsford. I worked for Bill Levy at Diamond's when he owned that.

Hey I'm up for a reunion! Are we going to take over Vision Hyundai, because that is what's there now!

Wow! I feel like I fell into a time-warp wormhole or something. I was the security guy who looked like Patrick Swayze (wish I still did). I'll try to find my RIT ID from those days. What a GREAT time that place was. I worked there from 1985 to 1987.

Some names posted here jump right out at me. Who could forget Nadia? I remember Spike and Rita. Both very nice bartenders who I think were engaged but broke up. I've heard Spike moved to Vegas. Ronnie D was a great guy. During my time there Bill Levy was the GM, Tom Patrick was the Operations Manager. Security guys I remember were Pete Growney and, unfortunately a bunch of first names, Steve, Al, etc.

We remodeled in '86, and it was never the same after we reopened. Although the waitress uniforms were CRAZY hot. And so were the waitresses.

So hard to believe that was almost 25 years ago.

Good times.

Does anyone know where Jimmy Panzarella is now? Or the bartender Jimmy from yesterdays? The DJ with the fro who worked at yesterdays and hobos alley?
Such great memories from the early 80's ! Pam Jones and I used to hit all those places..She was on the cover of the rochester magazine when she and Raul won the dance contest...

Hello folks, Im not an old 747 employee ( though i did show my face in there a few times. The reason I`m posting is I seen my old favorite Work place here. Tim Kaneys Wellington`s water works. I worked for Tim the whole time the place was opened. I was his one of his managers and fernando was another. Tim was a Great guy to work for.Fernando was also a blast to work with. It seems that Tim bought the club atmosphere into his little abode cause everyone that worked there was 95% of the time happy to be there.If anyone here know how i can reach Tim or Fernando that was be a blast.The last i heard of tim was after opening cooley`s bar and restaurant in Sarasota Fla. I even went there to see if i wanted to live there we stayed at time house. He was very successful there, sold coley`s and started another place on siesta key. Fernando ? last i seen was when we departed at waterworks.That the last i heard. I would love to hear from either of them. Just thought some of this might be of intrest to this sight
Happy Hunting

"ok sevenand7, I was also there since day one and there WAS a manager named Sam"

Thanks for defending me Lorisap! I was starting to think that whole part of my life was a dream. We old chicks in the white barmaid and red waitress outfits need to stick together.

Agingdiscoqueen
a.k.a. The Brat

I remember Bill Levy spinning the tunes at JB's club 747.
I was kind of blown away as I had seen him previously at JB's in Wellsville NY
(Can you say souther tier?)
The sound system was great & I remember the turntables were on a massive concrete column so that there was no feedback or skipping.
Good days.
DJ Nasty Ned

Hey Paula!
I will probably leave the parrot at home as the feathers go everywhere when I do a spin. I was going to make a comment about the wooden leg but the sponsors stated: "Absolutely no explicit or foul language permitted." So I'll be good.
But, from a pirates point of view, every dance with is rated Rrrrrrr! :)

I will be there! Hope to see all of you!

Paula:

I think I'm reading an invite in there somewhere!

Hmmm, after the local kids do trick or treat out here in Spencerport early Friday night, maybe a visit to Taylor's could be in the plans.

No costume, though!

Mike Paz

LoriSap hoping I'll be seeing you on Friday at Taylors costume party. It's been proven year after year that there is lot of fun to be had there.

Thinking you and the hubby need a hot TANGO costume and HEY, how about a demo of your newly acquired talent! :-) Don't forget the rose for between the teeth (preferably thornless).

DiscoBob wondering if there will be a parrot on your shoulder! Can't wait to see you hustle with your wooden leg!

Mr. Paz ........... any chance of a cameo from you?

ok sevenand7, I was also there since day one and there WAS a manager named Sam...he was on older guy who was from Buffalo and he left to open his own restaurant in downtown Buffalo with his brother. Rick D and I went there for dinner to say "hey" when he opened it. Sam took over after Tim left to open Wellingtons Water Works. You are obviously thinking of the LATER Club 747 days...AFTER all the above happened, when Bill L. operated it. BEFORE all of that, it was the hottest disco in town.. Tim was the first manager, then Sam (Cindy WAS the assistant) then Lou B (who was a bartender and then left to manager the Buffalo club) Then Jimmy R. (who was shot, but was ok) Then, Bill L. took it over...Got that?

Paula, I remembered you before your generous offer!

BTW, nothing's changed--I'll be looking forward to seeing you, showing off those legs!

Mike Paz, 2001 Club of Rochester DJ/Mgr.

Mike Paz I promise to wear a dress or a skirt to the reunion! If you recall that was you BIGGEST pet peeve about me. Now do you remember who I am? lol

OK, since there has been some activity on this site recently, how about we try to have an "unofficial" 2001 Club/Club 747 "reunion"???

Since the busiest night of the year for both clubs was the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, let's try to get out to Taylor's on the upcoming Wednesday night before Turkey Day.

Warren, any chance of Taylor's holding an "official" reunion of these two great Rochester clubs of the past?

Magical times, to be sure!

Mike Paz, 2001 Club of Rochester DJ/Mgr.

O.K., Here are some more people I thougt of from the Rochester 747 between 9/78 & 2/79 when I worked there. Danny-first floor bartender, mid 30's, worked somewhere else fulltime but stayed in the area to work at the 747 on the weekends. Some tall guy and a girl with REAL long hair (I think Danny stayed with her while he was in town) would sit in the back by the wall of mirrors and Danny would pump them full of free drinks. Other bartenders, Geri, Rick (spent a lot of time fixing his hair in the mirror), John (had an apartment nearby with a bulldog, Fernando. Also for a short time a guy named Mike that had a short leg, or a limp or something.
Security/bouncers, Lee (HUGE guy, about 7'), Jerry (insane guy that drove a white van), Steve, a NYC cop that had a thing with Mikey the ticket/coat room girl. I don't remember any of the busboys names, but I remember they came dressed as KISS for Halloween. And then there was Faye! The best waitress in the place!

my mom worked there her name before she got married was Carol Miller its now Casale

Paula D.....not Paula M but we may as well be one in the same since no one ever gets us straight! Remember bar server Karen K...redhead? Just added me on facebook - she's in Florida.

Hey Gang! Paula(which one?), Lori, Warren, Suzy! Not sure who the AgingDiscoQueen is but I'm sure she was a regular like the rest of us. Save me a dance at Taylors!
I was just seaching out World's Largest Disco Tix and found this place. Pretty Cool!
I uploaded some pix from 3 decades ago (even that sounds old). Ahhh, the old days.

One of the D J's was Diamond Jim , Jim Eldred , he also spun records at The School House and Hobo's Alley.

OMG, I can't believe that I found this site! What a blast back into the past! We need a reunion! Hey there Bobby Adams!

Ok-lets clarify here-there was never a manager named Sam. It was Bill with assistant manager Jim Panzarella. The guy who sat in the corner with his $5 water-Maury-or as we called him "Maury the Hut". Cindy was never assistant manager. Trust me-I was there from the day the doors opened so I know who did what to whom. Gino also managed the Playboy club in Buffalo besides helping in Rochester. DJ was Slammer and Pete Wilson along with Bill Levy. Who can forget the Miami Vice Party with one of the original MTV VeeJays-Mark Goodman. RayBan sponsored-we had Lamborghini and ferraris in the front with Limos. And what about those crazy Halloween parties or beach parties. The list of good times can go on forever! Dont forget Sunday night when the men would come to drool because it was Bunny Night...stay tuned-there may be a Playboy club coming this way soon!

Lol. Omg. I love all the posts. my mom used to work at the 747. she has always told me stories. I just called her and she
knows all the names and situations. Would everyone please keep me informed if someone posts pictures. I would love to see that.

what a great time at the 747 it was like you really were in a jet.

it was in the same building as "record theater", another place i'd stop by and of course "rochester one stop" in the back. you only knew about that if you were a dj, which i became on the side.

i worked at ch 13 at the time just up the street and would always stop by after work.

I'm now a DJ at taylor's disco on monroe ave and have always loved the stuff even though my buddies hate it, women love it!

i remember the brighton cops got me for a bad muffler on my b day after it fell off my vega in the parking lot!

i've been to disco fest in buffalo ny and have seen kc twice now!
www.kcandthesunshineband.com

see www.taylorsdisco.com
also
www.jamnstam.com

have a great day and disco on!

Hey Lorisap! I remember you! I was the Brat!
Dang Suzyg20, I didn't even know the 747 was still open in 84, 85 or 86. I guess I was "old" by then. In fact, I was probably pregnant!
My son would never admit this, but whenever there's a disco tune on the radio, I catch him tapping his foot.
:)

I was a cocktail waitress at 747 just before and after the remodeling in....1984 or 85. (or was it 86? lol)
It was myself and Karen Kosta. We had such a great time with Jim who did service bar and James Delancey who was the bar back. Spike, Nadia, Rita and Lisa where the bartenders. Tom was one of the managers and...oh wow, let's see if I can remember any of the DJ's. There was Slammer? (I think that was his name) and Mike.
Such great memories before they remodeled and ruined the place.

I still have the dance fever applications when Denny Terio and Motion came to 747(the future Mrs. Wayne Gretzky was one of the dancers!) And drinking from the Calder Cup and having the whole team there with us was great! Who could forget the Bill Levy era-thats when the "Jet" really took off! Spike and Nadia manning the bar-the point on different nights. The biggest security in Rochester(Glickman, Silver, and Tom Patric). We had the best VIP Parties (who wouldnt show up for 2 hour open bar!) And who could forget all the Amerks who came through our doors. Some only knew a little bit of English-Kai & Kari-"Michelob Light", Val James, and our sweetheart-Yvon Lambert. I have some pics to scan and will post here on the sight too! Those were the days!

Hi everyone. First off let me say that it was really cool reading everyones comments. I stumbled on this sight because my father, used to come in from Toronto (with a few of his friends) to the 747/Playboy clubs very often. He would always tell me and my friends of what the clubs where like then. He could keep us entertained for hours. He recently passed away. So even though i am 24 and have never been to the club, i cant help but feel that I in some way experienced it. Take care, Jerome

Hey, agingdiscoqueen...I think we worked together at the 747. I remember that Santa pic at the mall..Cindy, Gino, etc. remember Ricky and Jimmy the bartenders? Those were good old days! Feel free to drop me a line and reminesce!

Hey 747DJ!
Kathy and Jimmy Perfetta and Fred and Lucy Van Orden! OMG! That's right!
I just stumbled upon this site too. I had no idea it was here. I'm still in touch with some of the people that worked there and we were talking about the 747 so I Googled it and here we are!
It was such a fun place to work and yet, looking back it was so odd. The whole "mafia" connection now seems almost laughable.

Too bad we had to grow up.

ADQ

Hi 747 Alumni!
The Brother and Sister Team was Kathy and Jimmy Perfetta. Kathy was also a "Lancer Dancer" for the Rochester Lancers Soccer Team. The Couple was Fred and Lucy Van Orden, who used to dance at the VIP2001 Club as well. Gino the Fat Guy was Gino Vitagliano, who was Jimmy C's VP of Operations at the Executive Inn in Buffalo. The Executive Inn was also Home of the Zeigfeld Room and then the Playboy Club in Buffalo - A Great Last Call Trip! I found this site just surfing the Net and thought I would add a couple of quick comments. When I have time, I will add some more!

-Bob Adams

I worked as a cocktail waitress at the Rochester 747 for about 6 months in 1978. I’m 46 now and to this day I’ll run into people, mostly men, that still recognize me from the place. I suppose I should consider that a compliment.
Some of my memories of that time are….
Some of the waitresses, myself included, raised some eyebrows when we showed up at the Greece Mall in our uniforms to have our pictures taken with Santa. Some of the moms in line looked less than thrilled.
The weekly dance contests. There was a brother and sister team that won most of the time, if not them, the cop and his wife.
The weird guy that would stand in the corner and tip $5 for a glass of water. God he was strange! In fact we called him the water man.
Sam, the manager. He was probably as old as my father so I used to wonder when he was actually going to get a “real”.
Some fat guy named Gino. Never really knew what he did, but he was great to make fun of. Then there was Cindy. She slept with Gino, so she was made an assistant manager. We had fun ripping on her too.
Then there Jimmy C. Whoa! He’d show up once in a while with his entourage including his wife or girlfriend. Whatever. Anyway, Annette, Jannette, Nannette. Nobody could ever really figure out what her name was. Didn’t matter, just more people to make fun of. Sorry Jimmy, but the minute you walked out……..
Ahhhhh, but it was a total blast working there. Almost felt like a local celeb. Wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Growing up and getting the “adult” job has pretty much sucked ever since.

Thanks!
The Agingdiscoqueen
a.k.a. The Brat

I made a mistake in my earlier post. Please change Bob Adams to "DJ"

Owner: Jim Constantino

Thanks!