A few years ago, downtown Washington Avenue club movers and shakers Tom Gray and Doug Hall had the idea to refocus some of their interests away from the club district there and move it to the less-hip Laclede’s Landing.

Now, they’re celebrating the second anniversary of nightclub Throttle and restaurant and bar Feisty Bulldog, both at 720 North First Street (Throttle is in the basement; Feisty Bulldog is on the ground level and upstairs).

“The Landing was a new frontier for us, a completely new beast,” Hall says of the area, which has since seen everything from Lumiere Place to the Skybox move into the neighborhood. “We had to learn the art of working in that area.”

“I think the biggest thing for us to learn, and there were many things to learn, is people aren’t just going to come because you’re there. Just because you’re on the Landing doesn’t mean you’ll get Landing business,” says Hall.

“You have to build yourselves around what customers want, and define yourself as a venue,” says Hall.

They also had to learn how to correctly offer a full menu at Feisty Bulldog, how to get customers in and out quickly, and how to operate a business daily.

Friday night at Throttle is Killer B Fridays, while Saturday nights are Bottles and Bombs, a ladies night event. Throttle is also available for private events. Feisty Bulldog is open daily until 3 a.m., with live music Friday-Saturday nights, and is a popular destination during football season.

“We’ve finally gotten to a point where we know what we’re doing and we want to be perfect,” he says. “We really opened the Landing up to new people, a crowd we’re proud of who come because it’s us, not because they’re just walking by.”

Get more information at www.feistybulldog.com or www.throttlestl.com.