A Year Without Bogart's…

For those who haven’t heard, Bogart’s in the Fan will be closing this April. Steve & Lainie Gratz, the new owners of the property, plan to renovate the restaurant and re-open in Spring 2009. More information can be found at inrich.com. The Back Room at Bogart’s has been a staple of the Richmond jazz scene […]

January 13, 2008; 5:44 PM • by Dean Christesen

The Back Room at Bogart’s has been a staple of the Richmond jazz scene for years. The venue was used to record a couple of notable albums, like The Devil’s Workshop Big Band’s Idle Hands and Glenn Wilson’s One Man Blues. On an average night in the middle of the week, you can catch some of the hardest hitting cats that Richmond has to offer. You may be one of fifteen people in the audience, but the band will always kill as if the smoky room were full.

From Spring to Spring, what will this absence of a venue mean for musicians, listeners, other venues? Perhaps places like The Camel will notice an increase in business (and jazz groups requesting booking). Common Groundz on Broad St. – which, since it’s opening last year, quickly turned from a cozy, urban coffee shop to a great place to relax and check out nightly music – could see more jazz groups coming their way. Who knows, maybe places like Crossroads Coffee or North Harrison Coffee will push aside some tables and make room for occasional music entertainment. But the loss of Bogart’s means the loss of a great jazz bar. It seems difficult to fill the void of a late-night music joint.

But then again, maybe the new owners will do the bar justice. Maybe the food will be better, or they’ll be more lenient toward under-agers who just want to catch some music. The issue of smoking in restaurants that’s coming into play around the world is a touchy subject, especially here in Richmond. But how about better ventilation in the back room for the non-smoking patrons? One can hope that the one thing that DOESN’T change is the quality of music performed there. The new owners claim they plan to maintain the Bogart’s tradition of “music with the heavy jazz influence” upon re-opening next year. Well, that’s good news, but Bogart’s will be sorely missed.

Check out the calendar below for upcoming shows there.

[where: 203 N. Lombardy, Richmond, VA 23220]