Paragon

Overview

John Barclay's 2022 Brooklyn club at 990 Broadway, opened after a January 2022 fire closed Bossa Nova Civic Club, in a space designed with Barclay's designer friend Safwat Riad, with a checkered dancefloor, a sound system the club calls state of the art, and a 2023 residency roster that included Joey Beltram, TYGAPAW and Byrell The Great. Its closing in April 2025 was attributed by the club to financial pressure (PAPER reports that Barclay's main investor said he was 'tapped out'); the club announced an August 1, 2025 reopening backed by Kevin Saunderson (The Fader; BKMag; Resident Advisor), and listings show it operating again from October 2025 (Songkick).

Paragon occupies a two-level space of about 5,000 square feet (BKMag) at 990 Broadway on the Bushwick and Bed-Stuy border (BKReader; BKMag), beneath the elevated J/M/Z tracks (BKMag), in a building that had hosted many nightclubs over more than forty years (BKReader). BKMag says the space was formerly Venus in Furs, and Resident Advisor reported in April 2022 that the official name was Venus In Furs, also known as Paragon; the record has not settled the name history. After the January 2022 fire at Bossa Nova Civic Club, John Barclay re-hired all of Bossa Nova's staff at Paragon (BKReader). Resident Advisor reports private parties from the winter, an invitation policy, and an announcement on April 11, 2022. BKReader credits Barclay's designer friend Safwat Riad with Paragon's renewed design, with lighting by Night Mind. Time Out describes checkered floors, a mezzanine where clubbers danced above the crowd behind the DJs, and a basement bar with illuminated ceiling panels. BKReader describes art deco touches including retro archways and grand staircases. BKMag reports that Barclay compared the club's approach to the Palladium, Studio 54 and Paradise Garage. The club announced a six-artist residency program in 2023: Joey Beltram, Byrell The Great, TYGAPAW, x3butterfly, Ron Like Hell, and quest?onmarq (Resident Advisor). Resident Advisor quotes Barclay on 'flawless DJ capabilities' and 'innovative original productions'. Time Out names LSDXOXO, Juliana Huxtable and Eli Escobar among those who played, and Mixmag names Goldie, Nick León, RP Boo, VTSS and DJ Lag. In October 2022 Paragon hosted a Boiler Room NYC session with an all-local lineup of x3butterfly, TT, Goth Jafar and Joselo (Boiler Room). Ed Thompson is general manager (BKReader). Time Out reports resident videographer Luna La Sirena saying the owners wanted to document the club the way Studio 54 was documented. BKReader reports a cover never higher than $20, per Barclay, and drinks around $9, and says the club's safe-space approach is guided by tenets listed on the entrance to the club ('No racism, no sexism, no homophobia, no transphobia, no violence'); BKReader's photo of the sign is captioned as the first thing visitors see when they enter Paragon. In January 2025 the club's statement said, in Mixmag's quotation, 'we simply cannot afford the financial reality of this industry in 2025.' Time Out and BKMag reported then that it would close in April (BKMag gives no precise date) and that the business was for sale; BKMag's July 2025 article and The Fader report that it closed in April. Time Out quotes Maxwell Vice, who manages Nowadays, in a tribute to the club. Kevin Saunderson, born in Flatbush and a member of the Belleville Three and Inner City (PAPER), had played the room twice in 2024 (BKMag). Mixmag uses the phrase 'generous lifeline' in quotation marks for his help, and The Fader and Mixmag describe him as a partner and resident DJ. BKMag quotes Saunderson saying clubs like the Paradise Garage and the Loft 'shaped my soul'. Paragon was set to reopen on August 1, 2025 (The Fader; BKMag; Resident Advisor, July 16, 2025), with a 'Resurrection' series of August shows (The Fader). No source read reports the opening night itself; Songkick's venue listings show shows at 990 Broadway from October 3, 2025 onward, with Saunderson billed on November 28, 2025 and dates continuing through October 2026.