Bryan Burkert is trying to keep a secret.

Wonderland, his new, boldly designed lounge in Fells Point, catches the eye, but you wouldn’t know it from the business’s veiled Instagram account. Earlier this month, he asked a photographer not to shoot the interior.

“We’re really not trying to do a lot of social media marketing,” Burkert said. “We want people to come to see it and experience it.”

The word-of-mouth hype has grown since Wonderland’s April 3 opening. In a city known more for its countless bars than nightclubs, Burkert and business partner Scott Chmielewski believe there’s a growing desire to make a night out feel special again. Wonderland, they said, is not for the sweatpants-and-sports bar crowd, but rather patrons who relish dressing up and letting loose to contemporary dance music.

“At the end of the day, a nightclub is an escape,” Burkert said. “You work all week and you are this person all week, but when you’re here, it’s different.”

Wonderland — with its ’70s psychedelia-meets-glitzy Hollywood aesthetic — is a work in progress. The intimate first-floor lounge is open Thursdays through Saturdays at 1603 Aliceanna St., while the much larger second floor, where patrons will dance to live DJs, will open in the next couple months, according to Burkert.

He and Chmielewski know how to stand out in Baltimore nightlife. The duo transformed the Fells Point music venue Fletcher’s into a stylish, now-closed nightclub called The Get Down in 2010. They’re also responsible for The Rockwell, another Fells Point destination, known for its sweaty dance floor surrounded by immersive projection screens.

After 15 years, The Rockwell will close June 7.

“It’s a long time,” Burkert said. He noted the bar is still profitable, but its projectors had begun to wear down. “All that technology, all the systems, they’re not meant to run for 15 years.”

Like The Rockwell, Wonderland’s secret weapon is Chmielewski, who grew up in Ocean City and became a seven-time Emmy nominee for his lighting and production work on “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent.”

Though he’s based on the West Coast now, Chmielewski is always happy to lend his design expertise to a Baltimore project, particularly one that marries artistic flair with nightlife. All elements of Wonderland were custom-made by Chmielewski, from the wallpaper and lighting to the mirrors and surreal, constantly changing videos that play above the bar.

He cited wide-ranging sources of inspiration for Wonderland, from Andy Warhol and Danish furniture designer Verner Panton to “John Wick” and “Natural Born Killers.” In a word, he wanted the space to feel “provocative.”

“You’re not sure what you’re looking at, what you should be experiencing,” said Chmielewski, who’s also working on Cyndi Lauper’s debut Las Vegas residency. “The room was literally designed to make the people inside of it feel beautiful, feel sexy.”

That’s most obvious in Wonderland’s bright red stairwell, which is filled with reflective orbs that look tailored for a social media post.

While Baltimore has some nightclubs — like Ikonic Live, where Cardi B was seen having a blast after her recent tour stop at CFG Bank Arena — Burkert sees Wonderland filling a gap, particularly in Fells Point, where dance options are limited.

A major key will be the music, which is in Burkert’s wheelhouse as the owner of nearby record store The Sound Garden. They worked with Beltsville’s ITI Systems to install a sound system that won’t be shy. Burkert cited Latin dance music and popular British producer Fred again.. as some of the music to expect at Wonderland. He also plans to host a monthly residency with Peabody Institute musicians.

Frankly, he just wants more variety. “They’re still playing the same ’90s soundtrack,” Burkert said of the local bar scene. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s so much more. We need options.”

Burkert, at 59, said this is his last hurrah in Baltimore nightlife. He and Chmielewski are confident Wonderland, with its emphasis on style and dance music, is the proper swan song.

“Great visuals, great sound and just a different experience” are its pillars, Burkert said. The goal is to transport visitors out of their everyday world, even just for a moment.

“You always have a choice to drink in your basement,” he said, “and we always want to be way better than your basement.”