LITTLE ROCK — Porter’s Jazz Cafe has completed a long day’s journey into nightclub. After months of construction delays, it is open.
The opening was initially set for May, but that was pushed back to early August to coincide with the celebration of the 50th birthday of Art Porter Jr., a Little Rockborn jazz saxophonist who died in 1996, and for whom, along with his father, the club is named.
But, the owners realized that the Little Rock club still wasn’t ready. Still under construction, there was no front door to open. So after an August ribbon-cutting, the ceremonies were moved to a local club, Sway.
Porter’s finally opened for business last weekend.
Porter’s at 315 Main St. is in the 110-year-old Gus Blass Wholesale Co. building, which has undergone extensive renovation, said co-owner Marcell Dean.
“We had to gut out the whole building,” Dean said. “It was basically a big warehouse, and we had to start from scratch to make it solid.”
Developer Scott Reed of Oregon-based Reed Realty Advisors said the setup of the club was particularly challenging. Dining is at street level, but the stage and VIP area are in the basement.
“It was very time-intensive to chase down leaks under a 110-year-old sidewalk,” Reed said.
The staff is still adding final touches, such as covering up exposed pipes with curtains and picking out additional artwork for the walls.
A year after the project was announced, Dean said, the Labor Day weekend opening drew about 500 customers.
“We hope to be a dining and entertainment establishment of which Little Rock and the region will be proud,” he said.
Porter’s is a big step in revitalizing downtown, said Sharon Priest, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership.
“If we want to have a vibrant city, to have a main street with boarded-up buildings and vacant lots is disheartening,” Priest said. “Porter’s shows other folks that may be thinking about Main Street that somebody’s already there. Porter’s needs other venues to play off of, and they need Porter’s, just like the bars and restaurants in [the] River Market help each other.”
Reed said apartments above Porter’s will be on the market in April and will help attract other investors and developers to Main Street. He is also matching a $150,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts aimed at establishing an arts corridor downtown.
“I would be surprised if in six months we were the only place on Main Street,” Reed said.
Porter’s four-piece house band will perform nightly at 8, unless other performers are booked. The club is looking for guest musicians, Dean said. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily, and Sunday brunch; the cover charge for the music venue is $10 Sunday-Thursday, and $15 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The club began its soft opening last Thursday with a limited menu and will offer its full fare starting Monday.
Dean, who owned a jazz club in Texarkana before moving to Little Rock last year, said he grew up listening to Art Porter Jr. and his father, another Little Rock jazz musician, and wanted to honor their legacy with Porter’s. A whimsical mural behind the bar downstairs imagines the two Porters playing with famed composer Cole Porter.
“[The father and son are] legends here in Little Rock. You can’t help but think of jazz here,” Dean said. “Jazz is a beautiful art, and even if you don’t understand the language, it’s something that everyone can appreciate. Little Rock needs to have a venue like Porter’s here, for the true jazz enthusiast.”
Business, Pages 21 on 09/08/2011