MK: A Supper Club For Club Kids
Located at 204 5th Ave between W. 25th & 26th Streets, MK (or M.K.) was an upscale multilevel supper club/nightclub open during the late 1980s that became an essential stomping grounds for the Club Kids & avant-garde drag scene at the time, attracting patrons such as RuPaul, Michael Alig, Lady Bunny, The It Twins, Joey Arias, Sister Dimension, Michael Musto, Dianne Brill, Susanne Bartsch & many more on a regular basis.
MK 1st opened its doors on March 22, 1988 & was the creation of designer Serge Becker & artist Eric Goode, founder of the legendary nightclub Area which had shuttered in '87. The duo took over an old neoclassical bank at 204 5th Ave & designed a "kind of building-wide stage set for a larger-than-life town house, with a living room & bar downstairs, a dining room upstairs, & a billiard room & bedroom on the top floor." Guests—of which the club could fit up to 700—would leave their coats in the bank's old vault in the basement.
A 1988 NYTimes writeup of MK described the club as a "cross between the 21 Club & Nell's—a downtown club furnished with antiques" & compared it to European clubs like Bains-Douches. Though it was not a membership club, MK did take dinner reservations and those who showed up who were not on the list were only allowed in at the discretion of the club's door attendants.
The club's eccentric decor included the likes of 2 stuffed Doberman Pinschers presiding over the ground floor's French-style lounge, a clawfoot bathtub in the 3rd floor bath area, & a collection of oak cabinets containing exotic butterflies & animal skeletons in the billiard room.
According to the NYTimes, MK was a "gathering place for New York's new fusion society, where professionals, models, society figures & artists mingle. The variety of haircuts perhaps tells the story: there are preppy cuts, 50's duck tails, ponytails, flying wedges, Junior League coifs, bald heads, hair tumbling in glorious free falls & hair gelled into unicorn horns."
Other LGBTQ regulars at MK during its couple years in existence included Lypsinka, Leigh Bowery, Goldyloxxx, Sandra Bernhard, Isaac Mizrahi, Larry Tee, James St. James, International Chrysis, & many more.
Club Kids & Patrons of MK alike commented on their times at the supper club:
Rob Sorce (of the It Twins) @thanks.rob wrote: “MK was always an amazing time thanks to @lee.chappell1 and David Leigh! It was an honor to do the door for them with @timothy1010.”
David Kennerley @davidmkennerley wrote: “I only went to MK once, but I was so lucky to see Keith Haring and his fabulous entourage. Sadly he passed the following year.”
Lee Reymore @modlitbooks: “I worked at M.K. as a waiter for the first couple of years, we had an amazing crew and often had Jean Michel and Cookie around as they were dating Jennifer and Sharon that worked in the kitchen. One huge JMB painting and a couple Schnabel over-painted boxer photos hung in the restaurant.”
Lee Chappell @lee.chappell1 wrote: “What fun memories... We all created a magical moment in history! XOXO”