Mostro Lounge is described as “a meeting place for gentlemen,” where students are expected to abide by Octavinelle rules. No fighting of any kind is permitted, and there is one-drink minimum.
Mostro Lounge seems to have been founded in Azul’s first year, when he received permission from Crowley to run it on school property in exchange for a contribution of 10% of proceeds to the school combined with blackmail via threatening to not return powers to students that were left “capable of only minor feats of magic” after contracting with him.
In Book 3 Mostro Lounge is incorporated into a plot to steal Azul’s contracts, with rowdy Savanaclaw students luring Azul out of the VIP room by buying out the lounge’s stock and causing enough disarray to distract him while Ruggie stole his vault key.
At the conclusion of Book 3 Azul invites members of the group that instigated his overblot to an unusually crowded Mostro Lounge. Floyd explains, “After everything that went down, the headmage chewed us out and said not to take anybody’s powers again, even under contract. So Azul devised a point card system!”
The point card system has possibly only been mentioned once, so it might be unclear if it was introduced as a permanent part of Mostro Lounge’s promotions or if it was a temporary arrangement. Azul explains, “You get one point for ordering a 6-thaumark drink special. And you get three points for ordering something off the 15-thaumark limited menu. When you build up fifty points, you earn the privilege of one free consultation with the manager—namely myself.” Jade follows with, “What’s more, when you fill three-point cards, you’ll unlock even more perks,” but these perks are left unexplained.
Upon returning from STYX in Book 6 Azul immediately confirms with Jade and Floyd that they have been running Mostro Lounge in his absence. When Jade reveals that they have had zero customers due to the chaos on campus Azul says, “I’ll have to submit a request for restitution to Styx first thing tomorrow” and declares that he will going to the lounge immediately, rather than the school nurse, despite having only recently descended into Tartarus and contributed to an overblotted Idia’s defeat.
In Floyd’s dream of Book 7 he is hired at a restaurant where he accidentally creates a recipe that becomes extremely popular. Azul recognizes the famous restaurant of his dream and demands that Floyd recall the recipe he made, possibly so that it might be introduced at Mostro Lounge.
After hearing about Malleus’ unique magic steadily taking over the entire world Azul’s first response is, “Which has forced the Mostro Lounge to close, and this closure has lasted for DAYS now?!” He expresses concern about the ingredients spoiling (“And I’d stocked up on extra in anticipation of Lilia’s farewell AFTERparty!”), but Ortho assures him that there does not seem to be reason for concern about issues like food spoilage or physical aging.
This does not please Azul however, who says, “Surprise closures without any prior notice on the official website heavily impact customer trust. That’s something I can hardly just write off…If people perceive me as an owner that pulls surprise closures, that will directly impact my future sales. Malleus MUST pay proper recompense! And I’ll charge a steep price.” Ortho asks if this means that Azul will be joining the group’s efforts to take down Malleus and Azul responds, “Certainly. It’s imperative that I get the Lounge open again as soon as possible.”
Azul’s, Jade’s and Floyd’s dorm uniform vignettes all revolves around Mostro Lounge: Azul reveals that they are losing customers to the school store after Sam launches a “Mystery Drink” with which the lounge cannot compete. Azul assigns Floyd to the task of buying the rights to sell the drink in the lounge from Sam. After going on an unrelated side-adventure Floyd ends up with Riddle’s alchemy notebook, which he gives to Jamil, who needs it to do Kalim’s homework. In exchange Kalim gives Floyd “a legendary jewel from the Land of Scalding Sands,” which he trades to Sam in exchange for the rights to the drink.
Azul seems to respect Sam as “a savvy businessman,” and considers himself to be Sam’s “industry peer.”
Jade’s task involves him temporarily transferring to Pomefiore, becoming an assistant to Vi and having Vil promote the drink on Magicam without realizing that he does it, thus gaining them free advertising for the lounger.
The promotion is a success, with students saying “aaall the celebs throughout Twisted Wonderland are guzzling that Mystery Drink,” and “coming all the way here to Night Raven College just to get it.” Azul says that he “couldn’t be happier” to have the school store as a rival (“A bit of friendly business rivalry drives me to find new and better ways to serve this school”),, and “I only seek to provide you all with the best products available, regardless of profit.”
Later, Azul reveals plan was inspired by Floyd saying that Mostro Lounge could never rival Sam’s Mystery Shop: “If fighting would result in our loss, then we would simply have to avoid the fight entirely.” Jade says he had underestimated Azul’s business acumen: “Buying the rights to the drink was interesting enough. But you went further and set up a crossover promotion at the Lounge, all the while allowing the drink to still be sold at the school store. I could not have guessed that that would be enough to earn us a flood of customers.”
Azul explains, “People naturally want to create and consume stories. Sam’s Mystery Shop and Azul’s Mostro Lounge…the two rivals have mysteriously joined hands. It establishes a certain special narrative. The money is definitely great, but our new relationship with the school store is invaluable. I plan to take Mostro Lounge much further than this. And to do that, I need to make as many connections as I can.”
Azul seems to often be thinking of ways to expand Mostro Lounge’s clientele through establishing new connections and arranging promotions, even incorporating discounts that subtract from profits in order to generate new regular customers.
He expresses an interest in local treats in the Fairest City, which Jamil accurately guesses is so that he might introduce them at the lounge: “If it became known that the lounge’s proprietor had come here himself for research, that would certainly get people talking, don’t you think?”
Azul seems taken aback by the restaurant where they meet Vil’s father, saying, “I was just taking in how…how wonderful all this is. The decorations, the staff’s uniforms, the music in the background,” and expresses interest in introducing one of their drinks at Mostro Lounge.
When Vil says, “Perhaps I’ll stop in and have one,” Azul replies, “If you’d be willing to upload some pictures, perhaps of the menu, to your Magicam account, I’d give you your entire meal on the house.” (Vil: “I’ll pass, of course.”)
During Halloween Azul gives a struggling Silver a lesson on how to be respected as a leader at Diasomnia, both to get Silver indebted to him and for the sake of the lounge: “I’m sure he’ll liven up this year’s Halloween as Diasomnia’s interim housewarden!…If the school’s Halloween event gains popularity, then more outsiders will come to visit, increasing Mostro Lounge’s clientele. And we need every dorm operating at peak condition for that to happen. That’s why I lent him a hand.”
Mostro Lounge seems to sometimes host special promotions and events, and gets hired to cater events in other locations on campus: Azul mentions using sparklers to top cakes and parfaits for special occasions at the lounge, Kalim hiring Mostro Lounge to wait tables at one of Kalim’s parties, and a National Track and Field Meet being “a prime opportunity for profit.”
Mostro Lounge also hosts a Halloween event, free sampling parties, a tsum promo, and Azul reserves the Atlantica Memorial Museum in Book 3 on the pretext of a Mostro Lounge study tour, while Lilia hires the lounge to cater his farewell party in Book 7.
It is also possible that Azul arranged an event at Mostro Lounge to “take advantage of—er, synergize with the New Year’s sale” at the school store, and he says that weekends are the lounge’s busiest time.
It is possible that Vil and Trey both took part in limited-time promotions at Mostro Lounge: during Vargas Camp Azul allows for the use of magestones in his possession in the fight against the Vargas Monster in exchange for two days of Vil making and selling his original-recipe smoothies at the lounge, and five days of Trey baking confectionaries.
Azul observes, “With Vil working at the lounge for two days and sharing his smoothies, our sales will certainly get a boost,” and, “If we offer top-notch treats made by Trey himself, we’ll have a flood of customers pouring in!”
When Azul himself cannot oversee the lounge, it seems that he will entrust it to others in his absence: when he leaves campus for the social of Glorious Masquerade he leaves Jade and Floyd in charge (“Halloween is a prime moneymaking time for the Lounge. You had better do your job”), and despite the flood of off-campus visitors that attend NRC’s culture festival Azul leaves the lounge to members of sports clubs (“They’ll be running the shop and working the stands as drink vendors at each of the main stages”) as both he and Jade are “but two of the many Octavinelle students who belong to arts clubs” and they would have been “woefully understaffed to handle the expected flood of customers.”
Jade says that he works as a waiter at Mostro Lounge, but he seems to cover a wide variety of tasks: supervising staff, submitting recipes, doing opening prep, and cooking.
He also provides mushrooms that he cultivates himself to be used as ingredients in the lounge’s cuisine, but after two weeks of “mushroom mania” Azul refuses to accept any more, saying, “I cannot allow you to bore Mostro Lounge’s patrons with endless repetition.” (Azul explains that the lounge provides seasonal offerings, and, “Ingredients are much cheaper when you buy them in-season, you see.”)
Floyd will mention having to cook at Mostro Lounge and he is also seen acting as a waiter. Azul says he “cannot recommend Jade and Floyd’s cooking enough.”
Deuce and Grim both work at Mostro Lounge in Book 3, along with Ace, who waits tables and goes on grocery runs, and during Tapis Rouge he offers to work shifts in order to earn money to buy a blazer, which Azul accepts (“I expect I’ll get my money’s worth out of you”).
Ruggie is seen working at Mostro Lounge both in a vignette and in the Main Story, while Jack also temporarily works at Mostro Lounge in a vignette where he exceeds Azul’s expectations.
Azul has been seen offering a job at the lounge to Jack and Jamil, but both refused.
Azul says that he chose all the furniture of Mostro Lounge himself, and when asked, “What are some things about the Mostro Lounge that you’ve taken a firm stance on?,” he responds, “There are plenty,” but if he had to specify one, he is “uncompromising about (their) dishware.”
Azul explains, “It’s not enough for cuisine to be palatable. It also has to be presentable. Even the most appetizing of foods can lose its luster when it’s served on second-rate dishes. Hence, most of what we use at the Mostro Lounge is high-quality, name-brand dishware.”
Azul says that dishware is one of things he struggled with when first preparing to open the lounge, spending days gathering information about popular restaurants and sending his suppliers to the dishwater makers that they used. Azul says customers would be intimidates to know the value of their teacups, “But it’s that attention to subtle detail that elevates the lounge’s atmosphere to the lofty heights it’s achieved.”
Dishware for Mostro Lounge is the theme of Azul’s Tapis Rouge vignette, where he displays knowledge that impresses even Vil. Grim calls Azul’s voice in dishware “boring,” but Vil recognizes the vintage tea set that catches Azul’s interest for what it’s worth, asking, “Is there much sense in using something so expensive when the clientele of your café is mostly students?”
Azul responds, “For me, it’s an investment…I have no desire to compromise, even if I’m merely serving students.”
Vil visits the lounge after the events of Tapis Rouge, where the dishware that Azul purchased is being used by Deuce and Epel. Vil observes, “…They don’t have any idea how expensive those cups are, do they? Nor does anyone else in here. Do you still stand by your purchase?,” and Azul says, “Of course. As long as I’m running the Mostro Lounge, we will serve food and drink in fine tableware I select myself. I have no intention of making compromises. Ever.”
Vil replies with, “Just as I use my own sense of style to build my personal brand, you seek to raise the profile of Mostro Lounge through high-quality tableware and linens. Uncompromising attention to detail… An admirable quality. Perhaps I’ve misjudged you.”
It seems that Azul does, however, have special tableware set aside, saying, “When I can serve a customer who understands the value of what they are presented with, all the better.”
While he is manager of Mostro Lounge, Azul explains, “When it comes to actually preparing food, I’m afraid I’m well out of my depth.”
This is possibly why he was unable to craft a potion during a lesson with Crewel that required emulsification, a process used in cooking.
At first Azul says that he enrolled n Master Chef because “as manager of the Mostro Lounge, (he) thought it would be beneficial to get some experience in food preparation,” but it is later revealed that “a certain (moody) member of the Mostro Lounge’s staff” (presumably Floyd) has been displeased by Azul telling him how to do their job when he himself cannot cook.
Azul says, “Normally I wouldn’t let an emotional outburst get under my skin,” but by the end of the event he says, “if I can keep improving my skills, no one will be able to say I’m ‘full of it’ ever again!,” and a ghost chef observes, “You said that comment didn’t bother you before, yet something tells me it’s what’s truly driving you.”
Azul expresses an interest in expanding Mostro Lounge with a branch cafe in Book 3, attempting to acquire Ramshackle Dorm in order to do so, and a second Mostro Lounge branch is one of various dreams he shares with Riddle during Book 6.
In Azul’s dream of Book 7 he succeeds at the his failed plot of Book 3, acquiring Ramshackle Dorm for renovation into a branch cafe.
During the Tsumsted event Azul decides to put Floyd’s tsum to work at Mostro Lounge, and the tsum seems to enjoy squeezing grapefruit for drinks. After the lounge actually opens for business, however, the tsum changes its mind. (Azul: “We wasted perfectly good fruit! I should’ve made it a waiter…”)
When Azul’s tsum appears during the next Tsumsted event he has it sign a contract to work at Mostro Lounge which proves extremely profitable, with the tsum’s tactics resulting in the lounge quintupling its usual sales.
As a result Jade and Floyd suggest overthrowing Azul as owner of the lounge and instituting the more successful tsum, instead. (Azul: “I do NOT approve of its gauche, pushy sales tactics.” – Jade: “The fact remains that it’s getting better sales numbers.”)
Azul then challenges the tsum to a competition for ownership of Mostro Lounge, refusing any help from Jade and Floyd to prove that he is the only one fit to run it. His strategy—giving customers a place to view the tsum from afar without it pressuring them into spending money—is a success. Azul explains, “People come to the Mostro Lounge for a quality experience. Something more extraordinary than the everyday. Exciting gimmicks are certainly appealing to some customers, but not for an extended amount of time. Ultimately, what our customers want is a place to relax.”
Jade concedes defeat, saying, “I should have known better than to doubt Azul’s skills,” and Azul responds, “The Mostro Lounge is all I think about. Challenging me on my own turf was beyond reckless.”
Azul’s wish for the Starsending event is “For the Mostro Lounge to flourish more than ever before,” and during Spectral Soiree Jade confirms that Azul is no longer possessed by asking him about the lounge’s earnings from the previous night (Azul: “Revenue or gross profit?” – Jade: “All right, it’s him.”)
Jade says that I’ll keep growing the Mostro Lounge, and one day surpass my mother’s restaurant” was practically a catchphrase of Azul’s.
Despite saying that the lounge is all he thinks about, however, when Jade says that Azul is attached to the lounge, Azul denies it: “Do you honestly think me capable of such an illogical sentiment as ‘attachment?’ It’s profitable and allows me to gather information inside the school. That is why the Lounge is important to me.” Jade is unconvinced.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 