Well, I'm back from my big trip to Tampa and all I can say is...wow! My roommate and I arrived late on a Thursday night and hit the ground running through the entire weekend. We hit Ybor City, Hyde Park, SoHo, Channelside, and West Shore. We visited upscale lounges, martini bars, and dance clubs that had revolving dance floors. It was something truly inspiring. Now we get to bring back what we saw in Southwestern Florida, and hope to inspire similar thinking here in the Twin City.

But before we get to that, let's talk about my last column. Prior to leaving for Tampa, I did all the research I could on the different establishments we might want to visit. While browsing different clubs and lounges, I felt a need to expose what we currently lack here in Winston. In so doing, I may have confused some folks on the type of nightlife I was talking about. Let me explain.

Winston-Salem is blessed with some of the best live music in this region. We are blessed with places like The Garage, PS 211, Rubber Soul, and Ziggy's. We are also fortunate to have two of the top jazz clubs in the state. Thea's and Speakeasy are doing their part in making downtown vibrant and diverse. But downtown Winston-Salem is lacking a true upscale "dance club". Downtown Winston-Salem is lacking a true upscale lounge or martini bar. Downtown Winston-Salem is without a true upscale pub, complete with mahogany wood, urban design, and a classy bar staff.

I'm not talking about a restaurant with a nice bar or pub catering to college students. I'm talking about establishments that cater to the 24 - 34 crowd. Places that get kicking after dinner and last until 2:00 a.m. I'm talking about places with bouncers, VIP rooms, sound systems, DJ booths and décor from some of the top designers in Milan, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.

We could use a good dance club, featuring 70's and 80's music. We could use a trendy lounge, complete with DJ's spinning house music and bouncers making sure only the most fashionable are getting in the doors. We could use a club that features hip-hop, reggae, techno, or drum n' bass. And we could use more effort on the part of developers and building owners, to get these establishments here.

What I saw in Tampa was nightlife happening around every corner. Not because it was a part of a grand plan for revitalization, but just because! On Thursday evening, we went straight to a place called Bahasa, which featured DJs inside and outside. The average age was probably 29. Valets parked only the nicest cars in front and the line to get in wrapped around the building. On Friday we visited Ybor City, a historic district that features over 30,000 people every evening. It's a tourist and shopping district by day, but a mini-French quarter by night. The streets are closed and every bar and club features live music, DJs, drink specials and other promos trying to get more people in the door.

On Saturday we checked out Hyde Park, which featured Whiskey Park, an upscale bar in the SoHo district. Whiskey featured a DJ spinning the latest top 40, while bartenders served the mostly young professional crowd only top shelf drinks. Dark woods, pool tables and trendy lighting were the flavor of the day in Whiskey.

What does all this mean to Winston? How can we learn from this? Simple…just do it! 80% of the people I met in the Tampa Bay region weren't there for jobs. They moved there because it was fun. The jobs followed. 80% of the people I meet here in Winston leave, not because of a job, but because of a lack of things to do.

I understand we need to remain positive about all the exciting things happening within downtown. Seems like every week there is another exciting announcement. But we can't move forward without understanding what it is we need to improve.

Take all this nightlife I've talked about in this column, put it in downtown Winston, and you may see something quite surprising. Success!