Nana Plaza’s Red Dragon Expansion to Transform Beloved Balcony Bar Space

Red Dragon Expansion starts with sign.

The long-sought Red Dragon expansion is underway at Nana Plaza with owners aiming to open by the end of the month.

The Red Dragon expansion sees the already-large middle-floor go-go bar taking over the space that most recently was the Bunny Balcony go-go, an ill-fated effort that briefly began as a ladyboy bar before amost as briefly switching to female dancers.

Red Dragon Expansion into Old Balcony Bar

Before this week’s Red Dragon expansion, of course, the space was the beloved Balcony Bar, an outside terrace watering hole famous for having the cheapest drinks in Nana Plaza and a view to everything happening in the plaza’s courtyard.

Balcony Bar and its adjoining short-time hotel – the former Hollywood Inn – closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and its owner, the Stumble Inn Group, sold it off to Nana Plaza’s largest tenant, who has stakes in the Rainbow and Bunny bars as well as other bars and nightclubs outside Nana Plaza.

When Nana Plaza pulled the plug on all its short-time bars in April 2023 Hollywood Inn and other hotels were converted into go-go bars including On Top, next to Butterflies, and Lace Lounge, above Tycoon. Hollywood Inn’s lobby was converted into Bunny Balcony. It did not go well. A week after opening, the original ladyboy lineup was dumped.

Red Dragon Coveted Balcony Bar Space

Stumble Inn’s sale to the Bunny operator frustrated the owners of Red Dragon and Mandarin Club, which wanted an opportunity to bid on the property in hopes of a Red Dragon expansion by knocking down a wall and taking over the Hollywood Inn/Balcony Bar space. They never got the chance.

In the year since the sale, Red Dragon has done nothing but prosper, attracting arguably the best lineup in Nana Plaza and a legion of fans. Bunny Balcony, by comparison, closed six months after opening.

Bunny Balcony went on the market in February, but Red Dragon’s owners passed on buying it, as the owner only would sell the entire four-floor building, which included all the former hotel rooms above, which had been turned into offices and storage space. So it sat empty. Until this month.

Bunny’s operator finally relented and agreed to sell off just the middle floor where the go-go bar and balcony is. The rest of the space remains for sale. The Red Dragon expansion quickly got under way.

Red Dragon Expansion Plan

The first stage of the Red Dragon expansion already has been completed: Installation of a massive, wraparound LED sign along the balcony railing. A second Red Dragon sign was installed at the very top of the plaza wing.

The sign lights are on, but the Red Dragon expansion is nowhere near ready to open. A walkthrough Monday night found the space a total demolition site, which the Bunny Balcony stage and most of its seats ripped out, but rubble everywhere.

Remarkably, management says they could have the entire Red Dragon expansion space rebuilt by the end of the month.

Red Dragon Expansion Layout

From the beginning, Red Dragon was designed around the idea of groups and VIP tables. While there is some stadium-style seating and stageside barstools,  most of the seating is set up in sofa nooks idea for groups of guys – Asians being the target market – to party with groups of girls.

The Red Dragon expansion takes that idea to the next level, with 2 small dance stages planned as well as three new VIP areas, including a “super VIP” section for the really high-rollers.

The Red Dragon expansion connects to the main bar through the north wall where the DJ booth was. The DJ station has bene relocated to the walkway between the bar’s two entrances, which had been a walkway where girls typically congregated while not on stage or entertaining customers. That walkway is now impassable.

Given the premium design and layout of the original go-go, the Red Dragon expansion is sure to be top-notch luxury. And the balcony overlooking Nana Plaza’s courtyard will be the place to see and be seen once it opens again.