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According to reports by DBusiness Magazine, 80-year-old jazz establishment Baker’s Keyboard Lounge is preparing to open its second location as soon as fall of 2014 – this time in downtown Detroit.
Working in conjunction with Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate Services, the Livernois/8 Mile-residing jazz club looks to reproduce near the lower Woodward corridor / Capitol Park (near the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel). In recent years, Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate, Broder & Sachse Real Estate Services, and Karp and Associates have purchased most of what makes up Capitol Park.
The establishment’s owner since 2011, Hugh William “Bill” Smith III, hopes that Baker’s can be transplanted to the heart of Detroit’s downtown with the help of some much-needed updates. Reports indicate that the legendary venue’s new location will feature Art Deco design, 175-200 seats, a full kitchen and Baker’s signature piano-painted bar counter – depending on the final location decision.
Since 1934, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge has billed legendary jazz performers in Detroit, including: Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, and George Benson.