Club wants to give teens something to do

The Baraboo mother of a 16-year-old decided young people needed a secure place to go to relax, dance and have fun, so she and a business partner opened a night club for people ages 16 to 20 in downtown Wisconsin Dells.

The Drake Night Club opened this month, owned by Shannon Bonilla and Ken Knapp.

The club's name is derived from Knapp's nickname. Knapp said he graduated from college in the UW system last year and remembers from when he was younger how hard it was sometimes to find something to do. Bonilla has a 16-year-old daughter who she discourages from attending fly-by-the-night parties that take place in bigger hotels, invitations for which she said are sent out by social media web sites.

At the Drake Night Club there's no alcohol served and there is adult supervision and teens come to a permanent location, Bonilla said.

"The kids are really enjoying it up here. We haven't had any problems with any of them; our security's been great," she said.

The club is open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. most nights, except on Mondays it opens at 5 p.m. for family night.

Knapp anticipates that family nights will reach a lot of teens whose parents want to come, too. He said the club also plans on having karaoke singing as another activity. The club already has pool, darts and foosball for games.

Bonilla said there will be an advantage for some parents by coming early on family nights.

"Sometimes parents want to be able to get (kids) in bed at a respectable hour," she said.

On family nights, the club will play oldies, ‘80s music, the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance, Bonilla said. On other nights the club usually plays pop and hip hop, the kind of music on the Madison radio station, Z104, she said.

The club also gives teens and their local bands a place to perform, Bonilla said.

Refreshments include chips, candy and soda. In addition, Bonilla said Chimichurri, a new restaurant serving Argentinian fare occupying the floor below, has good food that the teens like to order. Chimichurri delivers food to the club, she said, which is good because once the teens arrive at the club they are supposed to stay inside.

The club follows the curfew rule, which means after teens pay the $5 admission, they are given a different colored wristband depending on whether they are over or under 18 years old. If they are under 18, they have to leave the club by 10 p.m. on weeknights or 11 p.m. on weekends. Knapp said he lets the students know a half hour before curfew so they have time to call for rides and so they aren't waiting outside on the sidewalk past curfew. A student ID or driver's license is needed to get into the club. Bonilla said if parents dropping their teen off can vouch for them being at least 16, they will be admitted, too.

Spa for Your Soul: Z104 Madison, WI - Connie and Fish - WZEE-FM

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