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Overhauled Chop Suey — and its new lounge The Den — set for March grand opening

Screen Shot 2015-02-17 at 10.24.17 AM 10922838_927328697277517_4823551759375342230_nWe’re not sure what they’re up to with the chainsaw in there but work continues to clean up Chop Suey for its next run at live music glory on E Madison. Or rather, clean down.

“By keeping the integrity of all that 1325 Madison St. has been through the years, the interior will reflect it’s stint as an auto parts shop, The Breakroom, Chop Suey, and the future home of The Den,” the announcement on a grand opening reads.

The Chop’s new owners Brianna Rettig, Brian Houck, and Erin Carnes have announced the club will reopen with a special show on March 6th followed by the big grand opening bash featuring Girl Trouble and Dead Moon on lucky Friday, March 13th.

In the meantime, they’re working to get the grit ratio right at their newly acquired club:

Creating success in downtown Los Angeles with both Houck’s first bar, Bar 107, and his partnership with Carnes at The Escondite, make them no strangers to bringing soul to the seediest of neighborhoods with artists and musicians at the forefront. This time with Rettig’s help, they’ll be doing just the opposite by trying to preserve some of the grittiness of a developing neighborhood and keeping a home for local bands and live music.

2015 started with wailings and lamentations for what many believed was the impending death of the club even as CHS reported on the progress being made by the new owners to overhaul and reopen the venue. In late January, the new owners could finally confirm CHS’s reporting and shared more details of their plans for the venue including the decision to retain the services of much-loved talent buyer Jodi Ecklund.

The new owners say they also plan to keep the Chop Suey name despite some calls for a new brand for the venue.

The announcement provides more details on changes being made inside the club:

The previous Dragon Lounge has been remodeled and renamed, The Den, with an updated bar and stage for smaller bands. Both Chop Suey and The Den will be open daily for happy hours and earlier on the weekends for neighborhood day drinkers. There will be something for everybody, as the new owners have decided to incorporate local spirits and craft brews into The Den and weekly drink specials in Chop Suey.

With a second stage added to the venue, the new Chop Suey appears to have created an environment similar to Neumos and its subterranean second stage and bar area Barboza. The new owners have also faced down the fears about the death of yet another Capitol Hill venue with a bit of a double-down on live music.

The new management say they are also making deep investments in sound:

Seattle based, TommySound, is installing a state of the art active stereo compact line array system, manufactured by SAE and designed by amplifier guru, Bill Lee. A smaller system will be installed in The Den and addressable from any point in the system. This system is designed and implemented by TommySound’s lead engineers Curt Nelson, Tommy Martin and Sean Gaylord. Among some old school alumni from Seattle, Curt, Tommy and Sean will be mixing and accommodating live entertainment several nights a week.

You can get your first look — and listen — at the new Chop Suey on Friday, March 6th starting after 9 PM following a VIP preview earlier in the day. That night’s bill will also rock, featuring the Constant Lovers, Beautiful Mothers, and KA.

You can learn more at chopsuey.com.

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Andiamo
Andiamo
9 years ago

Oh yeah, connotations of an opium den are way less offensive than “The Dragon Lounge.” Good work, guys.

George
George
9 years ago
Reply to  Andiamo

I don’t see a problem, just as long as they serve local craft heroin.

tc
tc
9 years ago
Reply to  Andiamo

They should just call it “Madison & 14th Venue”. That way nobody could possibly be offended. Though no doubt some moral crusader will come along and educate me about how it’s problematic.

How dare you!
How dare you!
9 years ago
Reply to  tc

14 is one number higher than 13 which is offensive to numerologists. and Madison was a slave owner.