Deborah Johnson Wood
Mixtape Café owners Jean-René Renusson and Jessica Brady have plans to bring bigger national bands to Grand Rapids, and they'll soon have a large enough space where eager teens can attend the concerts in comfort.
Mixtape Café will move at the end of this month from its location on South Division Avenue to nearly 6,000 square feet at 1115 Taylor NW, the renovated Waddell Furniture Manufacturing plant. The company's new name will be MXTP, a name Brady says stands for a more evolved venue.
"We do five bands a night, seven shows a week of live music," Brady says. "We're an all-ages venue; we don't serve alcohol and our clientele is between ages 13 and 25. We bring in national, regional and local acts. The area on South Division is building up and is a really neat neighborhood, but there are a lot of homeless shelters, and who knows what's going on outside. It's really difficult to convince parents that it's a safe location."
The new location is a garden level space in the same building as
Dog Story Theater. Brady says that besides the concert area with its new stage, sound system and lighting, the new venue will have a green room for the bands and lounge areas where concert-goers can relax.
"Kids have a place to go that's not at their parents' house and it's not at a bar," Brady says. "We have security, so the atmosphere is controlled and we don't tolerate any drugs or alcohol.
"The local bands are what really draw in the crowds," she says, "and we give them a chance to open for a larger band."
New Found Glory will headline the grand opening show on August 13.
Source: Jessica Brady, Mixtape Café
Related Articles$4 Million factory renovation underway in North Monroe$4M factory rehab brings new restaurant and nine condos to North MonroeDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].
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