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There has been a lot of, well, “whispering” about what is going on with the former Tongue N Groove location at 518 5 St. S., a popular downtown nightspot that closed unexpectedly a few weeks ago due to a change in ownership.
To answer that question and document the transition from bar to restaurant, new owner Len Bowcott is creating his own reality series around what he calls “the chaos.”
Bowcott is a web designer who owns, among other things, a video-based website called plutocrazy.com that features local entertainment and local people.
He bought the restaurant from owner Joseph Eufemia because he wanted to create a web series based on local musicians playing before a panel of music industry experts and needed a venue with a large stage in which to film it. He’s still planning on that, but in the meantime, he found a new angle — the transformation itself.
“Basically we took a place that was operating like a bar and are turning it into an all-ages restaurant featuring live entertainment,” he said.
“It will be a supper club and an all-ages venue. We’ll be doing a buffet at lunch with normal food, and more exotic buffet at night with white meat like chicken and pork, and for people who are more adventurous, more exotic food like rabbit, goose, wild boar and venison. For red meat, it will be beef, because we’re in Alberta,” he said.
He knows the transition won’t be easy, and while there were a few wrinkles he had to iron out immediately such as licences, disposing of expired perishable products and removing the big black curtains on the stage at the fire marshall’s demand, the first thing he wants to film is the auditions for the live house bands.
“We have two who are really interested, but we need at least three or four more so we can alternate them,” he said.
They are looking for “middle of the road” bands who appeal to all ages and ideally who play original music mostly in the blues, folk, jazz and country veins.
“It’s an all-ages venue so it doesn’t matter if they are 14 or 40; they’re all equally welcome,” he said.
Posting the videos of the bands on YouTube will give him a chance to gauge their popularity by examining the number of likes and dislikes.
He will also be filming things such as talking to suppliers and asking them about their products and why people should choose them, as well as staff learning the ropes and getting used to where everything is located in the new restaurant.
“There is a lot involved in turning it into a restaurant so we thought we’d turn it into a reality show and film the chaos,” he said.
“So we’ll make a series of videos and post them on our YouTube channel.”
The YouTube channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/plutocrazy1.
“And if one of the cable networks wants it, we’ll give it to them because it is promotion. Or else buy space and run it as an infomercial,” he said.
Filming is set to begin as soon as Whispers Buffet Restaurant and Lounge begins auditioning bands, which is expected to be on Sept. 7.
An official opening date has not been set but Bowcott expects Whispers to be open in the next couple weeks.
While the art from the Tongue N Groove has been stripped off the walls, he said he too will be featuring local art available for sale. He will be working with a professional gallery to ensure the artists are protected in case of fire or if one of the pieces is damaged.
So why the name “Whispers?”
“It was one of three names I wanted to use: Sporenza, Essence and Whispers. Whispers was the one I could get a deal on the domain name. But I also liked Whispers because it reflected the decibel level of the music where you could go out and have a conversation and still enjoy the entertainment,” he said.
There won’t be a cover charge as the cost of the entertainment will be built into the food.
Former Tongue N Groove co-owner Corrie Brough did not want to make a statement about the sale at press time, only to say he had no idea the deal was happening and neither he nor the staff were told about it.
“I’m keeping my mouth shut until everyone is done talking,” he said. |
