We've been following this story for over a year now, wondering when--if ever--that proposed venue at the old Club Envy spot was gonna open up. Hadn't heard anything in some time, though.
To be honest, we kinda thought the whole thing was kaput.
Not so. This past weekend, in fact, a strange sight caught our attention while we were making the walk from La Grange to the Double Wide. Right there, at the corner of Elm Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, the doors of the venue called 2826 Arnetic were open. And there were a few people inside, even.
What the what?
"We're open," says venue owner Frank Maldonado. "It's a soft
opening. It took us so long to get these permits in line, that we just
decided to open."
Plus, y'know, there's the fact that there
are already another 18 live music venues in Deep Ellum these days,
and Maldonado and his partners didn't want to get left behind in the
dust.
"Deep Ellum's definitely going through a revitalization
right now," Maldonado says. "But we'll see who comes and goes, and who
sticks around."
Sounds like fighting words. And from a
club whose web site only lists one upcoming show that isn't part of its
recurring jazz weekly on Thursday nights, no less. Who wants to
rumble?
