Court Tavern (Venue in NJ)

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20111230/NJNEWS/312300023/Court-Tavern-New-Brunswick-celebrating-30th-anniversary?odyssey=nav|head


NEW BRUNSWICK — In typically understated fashion, one did not see a special week of shows, a nighttime spotlight or colorful bunting at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick anytime this year. Yet, it would have been appropriate as the city music club marked the 30th anniversary at its present location on Church Street and its 50th year in the Albert family in 2011.

Instead, owner Bob Albert, 53, speaks vaguely of a big event marking the anniversary, sometime in the spring. On the 31st and 51st anniversaries. But that’s the way they’ve done things at the Court, and it’s part of the charm, customers said.

“Bobby Albert, he’s amazing,” said Michael Moore, 27, of South Brunswick. “He represents this place, and there’s no judging of the people who come in here. You just have to have respect for the place. They play punk, hip-hop, reggae, and it’s the last place they play it, too.”

They certainly have played. Three to six nights a week, upstairs at the street-level bar and downstairs where there’s a more proper stage. It’s where local bands and performers such as the Smithereens, Crossfire Choir, God Forbid, Cymarshall Law and The Gaslight Anthem got their start before going on to national and international prominence.

NEW BRUNSWICK — The Court Tavern is closed indefinitely, owner Bobby Albert said on Wednesday.The
venerable New Brunswick club was shut on Wednesday. Albert declined to
comment further on the club's closing when reached at his North
Brunswick home.
There
was no notice of its closing posted at the club at 124 Church St., its
website or its Facebook page. Music promoter Andy “Diamond” De Nicolo
said that he was not alerted of the club’s closing, nor did he known how
the situation would affect upcoming shows scheduled there, including
the high-profile concert by city punk legends Ensign on Friday.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20120118/NJNEWS/301180038/Court-Tavern-New-Brunswick-closes-indefinitely

Holy crap, I hope its coming back -this is really weird

thats sad i hope it re-opens, maybe Bruuuuuce will buy it.

Holland wrote:

thats sad i hope it re-opens, maybe Bruuuuuce will buy it.

Haha that would be awesome. It will be interesting to see what happens to it. I really hope someone else buys it like what happened with Common Ground/Double Down in Gainsville. But currently it seems like no one knows why it shut down or whats going to happen.

Holland wrote:

thats sad i hope it re-opens, maybe Bruuuuuce will buy it.

Start a petition

I saw the real estate listing for it, they want $1.25 million and annual taxes are around 28-30K/year.

Holland wrote:

thats sad i hope it re-opens, maybe Bruuuuuce will buy it.

maybe Brian will soon be able to buy it

steady now steady now wrote:

Holland wrote:

thats sad i hope it re-opens, maybe Bruuuuuce will buy it.

maybe Brian will soon be able to buy it

And play there frequently!

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2012/01/notable_rock_club_closes_in_bl.html

The rock band Gaslight Anthem sang about it on “Diamond’s Church Street Choir,” countless punk groups have expressed their love for it, and Patti Smith even raised money for it. But the most fabled rock club in New Brunswick may be no more.

The Court Tavern, a cramped, dark, grungy bar in the shadow of a downtown parking garage, has been the launching pad for many rock careers, including the Smithereens and the Bouncing Souls. But the New Jersey Press Media reports owner Bobby Albert is closing the doors to the club “indefinitely.”

Albert wouldn’t say why, but the Court Tavern has been in financial trouble for the past few years. The door hasn’t been padlocked and the bar’s website is still functioning, but calls to the Court Tavern have gone unanswered for two days and a show scheduled for tonight has been canceled.

That's really tragic

Its apparently reopening, eventually, any one else see this?

http://www.dailytargum.com/news/metro/new-brunswick-business-owner-plans-to-reopen-the-court-tavern/article_71e4e334-883f-11e1-bffb-001a4bcf6878.html

Debonair wrote:

Its apparently reopening, eventually, any one else see this?

http://www.dailytargum.com/news/metro/new-brunswick-business-owner-plans-to-reopen-the-court-tavern/article_71e4e334-883f-11e1-bffb-001a4bcf6878.html

Thanks for the update

I was at an event in NB a few weeks back and heard some chit-chat that the new owner is having a heck of a time getting a liquor license and that the building itself needs major structural work.

NJ severely restricts liquor licenses (you can only have a few dozen per city), making them prohibitively expensive. And honestly, a venue like that won't work without the right to sell alcohol.

Quote :

NJ severely restricts liquor licenses (you can only have a few dozen per city), making them prohibitively expensive. And honestly, a venue like that won't work without the right to sell alcohol.

Agreed. And I believe the liquor license for the Court is about 4x as much as what the property sold for. Also, although the guy who bought it is saying the right things now, I don't know how much I trust him. His family is big into New Brunswick real estate, however, who knows what direction they will eventually go with the Court. They have done their share of buying things, then tearing them down and building parking decks, etc. And the Court's location has always been desirable for something like that.

As you can see, I am skeptical of this, however, I remain hopeful that something good comes of this and the Court is re-opened as close as possible to what it once was. That is obviously a huge part of NJ musical history, along with present day NJ music culture for bands that will never make it big. It at least gives them a place, and an appreciative crowd, to play.

The Court Tavern was the only thing cool about living in this town. Mike's Courtside is one of the worst bars I've seen in my entire life (it is basically in every single aspect the antithesis of the Court Tavern), so in some ways I would almost rather Court stay dead than have that guy reopen it.

I hope that guy doesn't mess it up, I know he gutted the place (complete with it's traditions). Does anyone know of other good basement venues in the North Jersey area?

Looks like the Court has regained its liquor license. From the picture, looks like the front door has been replaced.

http://www.newbrunswicktoday.com/article/court-taverns-new-owner-gets-liquor-license

"Before securing the license, Barrood said he was considering opening the establishment as a juice bar, at least temporarily."

No court hanger door handle no dice.

Quote :

No court hanger door handle no dice.

Ha. I actually snapped a photo of the coat hanger door handle back in December or so. It was all part of the Court's charm.

Good to hear. Now that he has a liquor license there's no doubt he's gonna re-open - you don't make money unless you're selling booze.

Another update. I meant to post this a few days ago...

The headline: the new owner hopes to open it by sometime in August!

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/court_tavern_gets_ready_to_roc.html

Quote :

Court Tavern gets ready to rock again after owner renovates New Brunswick club
Published: Sunday, July 22, 2012
By Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK — Stickers covering the wall tell some of the story.

Bold letters and designs shout out names such as Spredhaus, All Eyes West and Dinosaur Eyelids — as well as dozens of other bands who performed there.

"People have told me, ‘Don’t take down that wall,’ " said Mike Barrood, new owner of the Court Tavern, the legendary New Brunswick bar and music venue that closed in January.

Barrood, 33, is renovating the place and hopes to open within a month.

"A lot of the old customers called and offered to help and work for nothing," he said.

"Actually, people don’t want it fixed up," he said of patrons who affectionately remember the scruffy-grungy atmosphere at the Church Street venue that gave bands their start.

Drummer Benny Horowitz remembers playing at the Court Tavern with six bands.

"I celebrated my 21st birthday there," said Horowitz, now with the Gaslight Anthem, a New Brunswick-based group that tours internationally. The band’s first show was at the Court Tavern.

Gaslight Anthem played at the tavern various times during the past decade — with the last show going a bit wild.

"I felt kind of bad. Ceiling tiles got torn down with people crowd-surfing and poking fingers. We gave back some of what we were paid because of it,’’ Horowitz said last week from Toledo, Ohio, where he and the band were touring.

Gaslight Anthem performed a tribute about the tavern titled "Diamond Church Street Choir," which Horowitz said describes the life and music around the tavern, with "a tip of the hat to New Brunswick."

"People are really sentimental about the place," he said.

With a capacity for 185 people in the first-floor and cellar music hall, the Court was a launching pad for many New Jersey bands, including the Smithereens, who played there and later donated one of their platinum albums — which was prominently displayed behind the bar.

Jazz musicians and other performers found a venue on the cellar stage, and in 2004 the bar hosted a sanctioned tournament of the schoolyard game "rock, paper, scissors."

Barrood’s renovation is the fourth life for the bar, which Vinnie Albert first opened down the street more than 30 years ago. In 1981, when the city built the Ferren Deck parking garage, Albert was forced to move to the current location at Church and Spring streets.

Albert’s son, Bob Albert, took over in 1997, but he faced another closure threat in 2001 as a developer planned an office and retail complex. City leaders relented after hundreds of patrons stormed a council meeting.

On Dec. 15, 2009, fans rushed to save the tavern again when a Facebook campaign brought in more than $20,000 in less than 24 hours to meet a deadline for back taxes. Four months later, rock legend Patti Smith headlined a benefit concert at New Brunswick’s State Theatre to repay donors and put the tavern on solid footing.

It all ended in January, however, when Albert shuttered the tavern without public comment. City records show $53,300.71 was owed in property taxes at the time.

With the recurring tax and redevelopment issues, Horowitz said, he wasn’t surprised to hear the doors were closed.

"It wasn’t the sexiest place on the block," he said.

But that wasn’t its appeal anyway.

"It was a great place," Horowitz said. "Good sound, good stage."

Before the tavern closed, Barrood and other others tried to buy it. He finally purchased it at a sheriff’s sale, and also bought a liquor license available from another bar that closed years ago.

Now Barrood, who owns the nearby Courtside Tavern on Elm Row, hopes to reopen soon, possibly bringing back bands that previously appeared at the tavern.

"All the people who used to come, they’re dying for it to open," Barrood said.

Has anyone heard anything else about this?

rsi1991 wrote:

Has anyone heard anything else about this?

Tons of discontent throughout the scene. This photo leaked of the bar:


And everyone's thinking this is an interior designer's bad take on a Hot Topic store. The authenticity of the historic venue has been raped. It's unsettling how it's gonna turn out, Barrood doesn't seem to know what he's doing.