Club Paris Closes Its Doors

Last week, Dior Entertainment Group, investors led by Club Paris’ owner Fred Khalilian, signed a contract to buy Cairo Nightclub on Central Boulevard and to sublease the building from Cairo’s owners for five years.

Khalilian will renovate Cairo and reopen it as dior Nightclub on Aug. 31.

Now in jail for violating probation in a reckless-driving case, Paris Hilton never made regular appearances at the club.

Dale Sexton of Dior Entertainment Group said the group’s members had been considering starting a new nightclub since November. But Hilton’s jailing and Lou Pearlman’s bankruptcy “forced our hands much earlier than we wanted to.”

Club Paris doesn’t fit into Kuhn’s plans for Church Street Station because it’s where 18- to 34-year-olds go for “a night out,” while Kuhn wants “a food and retail family hangout,” Khalilian said.

“It worked out for the best, anyway, with Paris in jail,” he added.

Another club in Church Street Station, Bliss Ultra Lounge, signed a five-year lease with Kuhn in early June.

“He likes exactly what we have,” said owner Vito Badalamenti Jr. “It’s an upscale lounge, and that’s what he wants.”

Bliss offers live entertainment, a dance floor and VIP service, Badalamenti said.

Kuhn was not available for comment.

Another Church Street Station entertainment hub, the Orlando Improv Comedy Club, will keep its doors open but renovate its exterior to look more “contemporary,” said box-office employee Melanie Ryan.

Though exiled from the station, Khalilian is excited at the chance to start afresh. Unlike the pink-themed Club Paris, dior will be completely white, Khalilian said.

“Club Paris was all pink and red and the glam of Hollywood,” he said. “This is for everybody.”