Our Staff
Paul Olmedo, affectionately known as Paulie, is my personal assistant. It was he and I that built the club from scratch. Paul is an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist. It's got to be right, sturdy, strong and beautiful or he will tear it up. Paul will be at the club at all times, covering my butt and doing what only Paulie can do: everything.
Yours Truly, "Mr. Anthony" (I won't tell you what Paulie calls me). I am the owner, for better or for worse, the creator of Cloud 9, and I am the luckiest man on the planet. It is only because of the people listed above that Cloud 9 is the spectacular and marvelous club that it is.
My concept is to bring stylish night life to Central Florida. Cloud 9, is not a place for kids to hang out, girls to get loose, or power drinkers to get "wasted," but for mature adults–to do all of that in style! While I was talked out of setting a minimum age to get into the club, let's just say it's not for the young crowd.
In the News
Read the latest buzz about Cloud 9 (reprinted and edited from the Ocala Star Banner):
Inside the old Magic Billards building, a big transformation has taken place. The former pool hall along South Pine Avenue closed in 2006 and, soon, will open as a sleek and sexy-looking nightclub dubbed Cloud 9 will occupy that location. The club is expected to open in November, and already the facade has changed drastically. I dropped by a few weeks ago for a closer look, and when owner Anthony Pastorino let me in, I was blown away.
It's very spacious - 6,000 square feet to be exact. The decor is bright red and black with splashes of silver. A huge DJ booth covered in glass mirrors sparkles like the disco ball it resembles. Cozy private booths decorated with metal hearts sit in the club's corners. One has a few cool red chairs that resemble hands.
The one thing that really caught my eye - other than the silver metal clouds suspended from the ceiling - was the uniquely designed bar area. There isn't a straight line in sight. The red bar top is long and curvy; it coils through the club like a ribbon of hot red nail polish. The stools have a retro look with an almost ice-cream-scoop shape. The liquor bottles sit on a shelf designed like a big wave that lights each bottle.
And then, as my impromptu tour ended, Pastorino pointed up and said, "And that's the dance cage."
Huh?
Hovering over the dance floor, the cage - I'm told - will house a professional go-go dancer to entertain patrons. This cage harkens back to clubs in the 1960s. These days, you also can find them in clubs in Las Vegas and Europe.
Very different for Ocala, but interesting.
Pastorino has spent the past two years designing and building the club himself with help from his stepson, Ocala's Paul Olmedo.
The overall look is flashy without being tacky, stylish but not over-the-top fancy. Pastorino said so many people head to bigger cities to go dancing, and he hopes Cloud 9 will keep clubbers in town.
"Why shouldn't we have a snazzy, ritzy upscale club without the prices being offensive?" he said. "We're going to be fun, not stuffy."
The music will be mostly house, Top 40 and dance - a bit of hip-hop, but not that much. There will be a dress code, and they hope to attract mature clientele.
Cloud 9 will have four bars, she said, plus "floaters" - servers dressed in chic cocktail dresses. They will walk through the club and take drink orders, but they will not offer you shots or pour liquor down your mouth from the bottle. How refreshing! Enciu said Cloud 9 will be "all the way classy."
"It's something when people come in, they'll see elegance but also funkiness," Enciu said. Look for it to open in November.
OCALA - A new nightclub plans to open later this summer in the old Magic Billiards building at 1910 S. Pine Ave.
Cloud 9 has a chic red, black and silver decor and features four bars, several VIP booths and a dance cage for the club's professional go-go dancer. The club will likely open in November.
Owner Anthony Pastorino said the pool hall closed its door in 2006. Since then, he has been working on Cloud 9, designing and building everything in the club with his stepson, Paul.
Pastorino said the club will be a "classy, ritzy" place but not "stuffy" with very high prices.
There will be a dress code and male patrons should be at least 25 years old.
The music will be mostly Top 40, house and dance.