Madison nightclub Cielo on State was inspired by the heavens | Entertainment

Cielo, a new nightclub on State Street, was designed to have flow. 

Owner Susan McKinney, who also owns Sotto Night Club, runs Cielo with her daughters, Sean and Carla Ortega. Open at 118 State St. since Sept. 25, the space offers house music, cocktails and immersive design inspired by the family’s years living in Mexico — “good music, good vibes, different levels where you can go through the building and explore,” McKinney said.

Cielo was designed to be layered experience, as patrons drift from one area to the next. The space unfolds across multiple floors, each with its own character. There’s a first-floor bar seating area, a second-floor lounge, and an upstairs dance room known as the Boiler Room. 

“You don’t have to find a table and stay there the whole night,” McKinney said. “You can come in and sit and have one experience and then you don’t have to leave and go to another bar to have another experience.” This vibe allows guests to decide how they interact with the space, whether that’s talking, dancing or simply unwinding.

Tin stars and techno

Much of Cielo’s design draws from McKinney’s daughters’ upbringing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The name Cielo translates to “sky” or “heaven” in Spanish, and the space grew out of that vision. 

Their designer Teresa Wachter, a close family friend from San Miguel, incorporated the theme using stars, clouds and metallic accents. She was “the art director for several films,” McKinney said. 

“We’re like, who could fill this idea that we want to bring Mexico here? It can’t be anybody other than Terry,” Sean Ortega said.

Many of the details around Cielo come directly from Mexico: tin stars hanging from the ceiling, handmade in San Miguel, and a framed lucha libre poncho, a nod to Mexico’s all-star wrestling, found in a Mexican artisan market. 

“We didn’t want to be a Mexican place,” McKinney said. “But we wanted little accents of where we come from.”

House music is another key element of Cielo’s atmosphere. The bar fills what the family saw as a gap in Madison’s nightlife: a space for fans of house and techno to experience live DJs, with a slightly older crowd. 

“There’s another population here that loves house and techno. People who might be a little older, older than 21, let’s say, that want to come in for a chill night,” McKinney said. Cielo intends to be “a place to dance and hear the music that they really like in a nice venue.” 

Carla Ortega, who’s deeply connected to the regional house/techno community, curates much of the music programming. She also brought one of Cielo’s most distinctive events to Madison: the coffee rave. 

Inspired by ones she attended in Chicago, these daytime raves pair electronic music with $6 espresso martinis and mimosas. Cielo hosted its first coffee rave shortly after opening.

Espresso and tequila

The team is slowly adding more events as their staff settles in, everything from DJ nights to educational tasting sessions that highlight spirits like mezcal and tequila.

Cielo doesn’t yet serve much food — McKinney said the restaurant intends to begin serving its online menu in 2026, which includes things like charcuterie and Dorilocos/Fritolocos (what some might call a walking taco, made in a bag of chips). 

Visitors to the bar already have some early favorites, including the hibiscus mezcalita. Another standout is the Reposada, an espresso martini made with reposado tequila instead of vodka. 

Long-term, the family hopes to introduce Madison drinkers to the slower, more traditional way mezcal and tequila are enjoyed in Mexico — sipped, not shot. 

“In San Miguel, it’s a liquor to be enjoyed by sipping,” McKinney said. “You have to sip it and taste it.”