Tim Walton

City Slickers was the place to be Friday night as DJ Macy Paradise, national recording artist Ya Boy (YB the Rockstar) and Bills players Stevie Johnson, Kelvin Sheppard and Aaron Williams made an appearance and put on a show.

The event was organized by local entrepreneur and promoter Tim Walton and was sponsored by DirecTV/ IR Systems, PantSaggin.com,TheBatavian, and Next Level Fitness. 

Above: Dj Macy Paradise with Buffalo hip-hop artist GiG5.

Above: National recording artist Ya Boy performs "Stevie Johnson (Bills Anthem)."

Above: Stevie Johnson poses for a photo with Bills fan James Stading.

Photos by Micheline V. 

Local entrepreneur Tim Walton has arranged for iTeen to bring an MTV season premier party to Falleti Ice Arena on June 24.

The premier party will be for the MTV series "The Challenge: Rivals." Cast member Wes Bergmann will be on hand and teens attending the event will all have a chance to meet him and get their pictures taken with him.

The entire skate floor will be turned into one huge dance floor.

 "Were going all out for this," Walton said.

ITeen, with more than 20,000 followers on Facebook, is based in Buffalo and hosts events in nightclubs such as PURE, Infinity and Club Paradise.

iTeen is for high school students only and is supervised by NYS licensed security that have handled numerous of these events before.

"We take safety seriously," Walton said. "Our security takes the highest priority in making sure that it is a safe atmosphere. We overstaff on security, with each one being NYS security licensed or a police officer, and some are even EMT certified as well."

The June 24 party, which will run from 7 to 11 p.m., is the first of several iTeen events he hopes to bring to Batavia.

Remember the pink gorilla we saw wandering on Main Street on May 25? It was a marketing ploy of local entrepreneur Tim Walton.

Walton has relaunched his T-shirt and clothing business, former Topline Shirt Company, as Pink Gorilla Tees and Graphics.

The location remains 214 E. Main St. in the City of Batavia.

Joe Canzoneri has been named store manager.

Just because the new store has opened doesn't mean the mascot will be retired, Canzoneri said.

"We will continue to send the mascot to events," Canzoneri said. "It's something that we hope the community will enjoy as well. We want to have fun with what we do and Pink Gorilla is just that -- fun and creative just like our shirts"

Pink Gorilla will be open from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

A pair of local entrepreneurs who plan to open a teen nightclub in the former location of PowerHouse Gym on East Main Street, Batavia, say a major financial hurdle has been overcome and they're ready to move forward.

After initially announcing plans in January, just two weeks later, the venture had to be put on ice when Tim Walton and Mike Marchese learned they would need to install a $50,000 sprinkler system in the 7,350-square-foot facility.

Walton announced this week that additional, unnamed, investors are now involved in the project and Walton and Marchese have $100,000 available for the project.

Most of that fund is being bankrolled by Walton and Marchese, Walton said, but the local investors are willing to put in more money if needed.

"We don't want to cut corners," Walton said.

No opening date was announced.

"We've got a plan, contract and partnership that allows us to have direct access to over 20,000 teens in Western New York," Walton said. "We're going all out to make this a success."

Walton also announced a partnership with local DJ Marc Tillery.

"The move to buy into the DJ company was a move I made to allow us to have our own disc jockey company rather than have to hire out," Walton said. "I partnered with Tillery as a way to have more access to the current music, club mixes and even recording artists. Tillery has some connections with Hollywood stars, EA Sports, Boyz II Men, New Edition and his most recent connection is Island Def Jam recording artist Kenny Klassix."

Walton and Tillery previously joined forces in local marketing, as Walton bought out Tillery's advertising marketing company and merged it with his screen-printing business, TopLine Shirt Company.

Meanwhile, Walton has also sold out his interest in the DJ operation at Falleti Ice Arena to Firland Management.

The ice arena DJ operation was a venture he had gotten involved with in 2001. 

"I had a great time doing it while I did," Walton said. "It was great working with Rich Nobles, Dee Gugel, Bob Filighera and everyone else."

A plan to open a teen nightclub on East Main Street, Batavia, has hit a snag.

Tim Walton and Mike Marchese Jr., who planned to partner on Impulz Teen Nightclub, discovered through the planning process that their selection location requires a sprinkler system for the planned use.

The building is 7,350 sq. ft. and because the maximum capacity for the building is more than 100 persons, code requires a sprinkler system.

Not just any plumber can install it, said Walton. The cost could top $50,000.

"Right now we got a price and it's looking like it's gonna cost an additional $50,000," Walton said.

The partners are going to look into getting a price for a dry sprinkler system and see what the pricing and regulations would be on that.

"If the price can't drop any lower, then I would have to go back and refigure some numbers. Those numbers would have us into this well over $100,000 and I would have to be sure it would workout."

Walton and Marchese aren't ruling out opening the club, even at the original planned location at 624 E. Main St., but feel that current circumstances will make it difficult.

"If it's meant to happen it will play out." Walton said. "If not, then there will be other opportunities."

Tim Walton, the 21-year-old entrepreneur behind Top Line Shirt Company, is planning another business venture.

He and a partner, Mike Marchese, are planning to open a teen nightclub at 624 E. Main St., Batavia, in the spring.

The building is owned by Ken Mistler and once housed his gym, which is now located at the corner of East Main and Jackson streets, downtown.

Impulz Teen Nightclub is expected to open in the spring, Walton said.

The space is 7,350 square feet and Walton said it is already well set up for a DJ booth and dance floor.

The club will cater to teens in high school and middle school and be similar to iTeen, a popular nightclub in Buffalo that draws young people from throughout the region.

Walton said he first conceived of the idea when was 18 because he and his friends felt there weren't enough entertainment options in Batavia. But until now, he said, he couldn't afford to open such a venue.

To avoid the need of a loan to fully fund the venture, Walton turned to Marchese as a business partner to help get the doors open.

There will be extensive renovations inside the building before the club can open, Walton said.

Originally, Mistler intended to put a nightclub in the space, Walton said, but Mistler has become busy with his business ventures downtown, which include The Daily Grind, Next Level Fitness and South Beach Restaurant. Mistler has been providing advice and pointers during the start-up process, Walton said.