Both were owned by businessman Olivier Coquelin, nicknamed "Disco Daddy," who had opened Le Club, the first American discotheque, in 1960, followed by Cheetah in 1966.
"[1] The decor was by architect Lawrence Peabody, who said "I've made Cachaça a simple bronze-mirrored box with lots of comfortable seats, no paintings, photographs or anything- so it can be crowded with colorful people.
"[2] Among the guests in its opening weeks were former New York mayor John Lindsay and his wife Mary, Broadway producer Michael Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Rupert Murdock, and Mick and Bianca Jagger.
[8][9] While Olivier Coquelin jokingly denied to Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine that any "striptease" would be taking place at Cachaça,[5] by early 1980, he had decided to open "Chez Elle at Hippopotamus," featuring male strippers.
A notice in Back Stage directed "attractive male gymnasts, dancers and he-man types" to auditions at Cachaça.