An After-Hours Club Without The Drive

The Bedrock Cafe, 16261 Redmond Way, Redmond. Open at 11:30 daily. Recorded music and dancing 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday, 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, live music Sunday, Karaoke Wednesday. 861-9925. --------------------------------------------------------------- -- REDMOND Tonight marks the Bedrock Cafe's first Summer Patio Bash. Fortunately, there's finally a patio to bash on.

"It took four months to get all the proper permits," said Con Kolytiris, who along with his brother, Peter, owns and operates the new Redmond club and restaurant. "With all the construction and everything going on around the Eastside, it takes a while to get things handled. They're pretty careful about what they OK and what they don't."

The Bedrock officially opened six weeks ago. Along with a restaurant and full-service bar all brightly done up in Southwestern painted-desert colors, the new venue offers entertainment. The brothers cut their cafe teeth on the University District-based Lox, Stock and Bagel. They later ran Constantine's in Seattle. It was there they first started working with the dance format now employed in what used to be the Old Town Bar & Grill.

"We saw this great old building just kind of going to waste," Kolytiris said. "We wanted to do something on the Eastside and this was the perfect place."

The facility's chief claim to fame is as an after-hours club, although Kolytiris is quick to add that the Bedrock is more than

that.

"We're open until 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and the response has been really good," he said. "We start serving breakfast at midnight and the bar closes at 2 a.m. but the music keeps going. If you've been out for a while and you've had some drinks, it gives you a chance to have a little food, some coffee, dance some more and work (the liquor) off. And then there are a lot of people that don't get started until late, so we're offering them a place to go as well."

Kolytiris laments the fact that there aren't more like-minded clubs in the immediate area.

"The great thing about Pioneer Square and Belltown is the number of clubs within walking distance of one another. We'd like to see more of that here. Keep the Eastside people closer to home.

"You can go to Casa-U-Betcha (in Belltown) almost any Friday or Saturday night and 70 percent of the people are from here. Why would they want to hassle 520 to get there? We think all those people in the west Lake Sammamish area and around need someplace a little closer to go to. We want to be it."

Kolytiris said that although the club and the house music mixologist DJ Kid offer the freshest recorded dance tracks they can find, the club isn't limited to recorded music alone.

"Sunday is live music. We have a band, The Rattlers, who not only play themselves but bring their friends in to jam as well. Last week there were like 13 musicians on the stage all going at it. We used to close at midnight on Sunday, but it's been going so well, we're keeping it open until 2 a.m."

He adds that the Wednesday karaoke is also drawing a strong following.

"It's all about energy," he said. "Energy and a good attitude is everything in the entertainment business. We want our customers properly treated from the guys at the front door all the way in. It's what we stress at every meeting. Keep it positive. If you have a problem, leave it outside. We don't need it in here."