After being closed for 10 months and $10 million in renovations, Jay-Z’s 40/40 club reopened to the public. According to a report by the Huffington Post, the club included lavish features such as an 18-foot tower of champagne and gold plated statues of baseball caps. The writer also noted sports were a consistent theme throughout the establishment.
“The club is filled with sports memorabilia, including jerseys from David Beckham, Chris Paul and all members of the 40/40 club (Canseco, Bonds, Rodriguez and Soriano),” wrote Jeryl Brunner. “You can also find autographed gloves from the 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. In fact, when Kobe Bryant was hanging out in the Jay-Z lounge, he said, “You don’t have anything here from me.” So he donated his 2008 Olympic gold medal.”
According to Brunner, Jay-Z is very involved with this business and is commonly seen throughout the club, both in and out of VIP areas. “Jay-Z and his business partners have their own private off-limits spot called the Owner’s Lounge, but you can find him kicking back throughout the club, especially in the Jay-Z lounge,” Brunner continued.
Although Jay-Z’s business acumen is well known, the 40/40 Club has had several setbacks. In January, the club was temporarily shut down for a health code violation and has been subjected to lawsuits. There was also an alleged rape in one of its bathrooms. Despite this, Jay-Z has worked hard to keep the club afloat and, according to a writer for the New York Times, the renovations are a vast improvement. “Before renovation, the club’s futuristic neon purple and egg-shaped chairs had aged into cheesy millennialism,” wrote Ben Detrick. “Now, the space feels like the interior of a watch: reflective surfaces, caramel brown and gold. Gold baseball bats line the walls, gold Champagne bottles form a carapace around the bar; chandeliers hang from gold cables.”
