Capitol Hill’s largest — if not most significant — live music venue has inked a deal that will keep it at the corner of E Pike and 10th Ave for another decade and then some.

“This allows us to invest in the business a little further,” Neumos partner Jason Lajeunesse told CHS about the new lease that keeps the club operating at its 925 E Pike location through 2024.

Lajeunesse said the deal started getting pounded out with about three years remaining on the previous lease as he and partners Jerry Everard, Mike Meckling and Steve Severin made plans for a series of upgrades and projects at Neumos including finishing the balcony, enhancing the marquee and general work to keep the 20-year-old venue rocking.

The move also allowed the partners to invest fully in a new stage being built out on the venue’s lower level. The new performance area will include a full service bar and give Neumos a second area to feature smaller acts and more intimate performances.

Neumos was born in 1992 as Moe’s Mo’Roc’N Café. As we wrote about here, it is often confused as a birthplace of grunge despite not opening until the marketing of the trend was well underway.

In addition to its near-nightly rotation of local and national tours, the venue is at the heart of the annual Capitol Hill Block Party.

Even with the critical and financial success from the annual festival, Neumos has its work cut out for it and the improvements come as Neumos faces increased competition in the medium-sized live music venue space in Seattle.

Lajeunesse said that December was a little down from 2010 — 15 shows booked vs. 23 the year before — but it’s “a little early” to say the emergence of The Neptune as a live music venue will hurt the business behind Neumos. The effort to dig up newer, more compelling bands could also be healthy for keeping the venue relevant. “We can develop more stuff,” Lajeunesse said. “We can be involved at the ground level. New bands. Local bands. It’s an opportunity.”