When Eck’s Saloon closed two years ago, Lakewood lost a legendary music venue with a history that spanned more than three decades and saw a steady stream of local and national hard rock and ’80s hair-rock bands like Warrant, Skid Row and Quiet Riot. But since Dumitru Sajin took over the building last February, he’s been busy giving it a much-needed update, and now he is opening the space as the Silver Spur Saloon this week.
Silver Spur consultant Simon Campari says the new bar/venue, which will host rock and country bands four nights a week, got an extensive remodel. The bathrooms were completely redone, and the dance floor is now about three times the size as it was when it was Eck’s. Campari says a lot of the original dance floor was covered by the stage, and when the stage was dismantled, that wood was used to expand the dance floor. A brand-new stage top was installed, as were new sound and lighting systems.
While the building’s been updated, there’s a wall that pays tribute to Eck’s with some of the signed music memorabilia that once hung in the former venue.
“We definitely want to keep the history that Eck’s had,” Campari says. “It was a big venue for the community. I’ve talked to people that went there for twenty years that are now 45 years old, and they remember going there when they first turned 21. So, there’s just a lot of that history, and we wanted to keep that. That’s why we decided to use the same dance floor and why we decided to keep all the memorabilia in there and display it. People were used to going there when it was a fun venue, and they were looking for good quality entertainment, live music, and all of that we’re going to keep. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
In addition to live bands four nights a week, there will also be live-band karaoke on Wednesdays and a game room with pinball machines, arcade games, pool tables and shuffleboard. Campari says the plan is to bring in local acts the first year and then start bringing in national bands.
Campari says there’s nothing in the Lakewood area that’s similar to the type of venue that Silver Spur is. “Other bars like Greenfield’s do live music on weekends, but they don’t have the venue that we do,” he says. “The full capacity of [Silver Spur] is about 800 people. It has a potential to be a great location for national acts, and I know that we’re definitely going to be gearing toward that here after the first years of being open, for sure.”
Silver Spur will also have a full kitchen, which opens along with the front bar at 11 a.m., and there will be a limited late-night menu as well.
By Jon Solomon
http://www.westword.com/music/silver-spur-saloon-opening-in-former-ecks-saloon-space-8532168