Expansion of GR's 'B.O.B.' adds banquet facility and 25 jobs

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

The popular dining and entertainment venue, The B.O.B. (Big Old Building) at 20 Monroe Avenue NW, is renovating its top floor to add 12,000 square feet of banquet space to its existing amenities. US Signal, who relocated in January, has occupied the space for the past ten years.

Along with the expansion, The Gilmore Collection expects to create about 25 positions for servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, security, and management.

"We expect to be hiring around June 1st," said Greg Gilmore, CEO. The renovation will be completed in late June.

The $1 million renovation includes a glass walkway through the building's atrium, a designer drywall system, and a 30-ft x 40-ft dance floor. Sliding glass walls will allow the space to be divided into three rooms, so multiple events can take place at the same time.

"We have a bar and lounge on the lower level we'll move up there," Gilmore said. "That allows us to move things around a bit downstairs. We're expanding a game room to 5,000 square feet and bringing back the Monkey Bar which has been closed about six months."

"This takes us to another level," Gilmore said with a laugh.

The B.O.B. kicked off its ten-year anniversary year last New Year's Eve.

Source: Gregory S. Gilmore, The Gilmore Collection
www.thebob.com

Deborah Johnson Wood is the Development News Editor for Rapid Growth. She can be reached at [email protected].

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