Margate is to get its first jazz bar in decades after two entrepreneurs signed a deal to open a new venue in The Centre.
Crybaby Jazz is the brainchild of George Grossmith and Freddie Hiscock, who are investing in their first business after spending the past few years running pubs and bars.
They have signed a five-year lease with commercial property and investment company Evolve Estates, part of the LCP Group of companies, for units 6 and 7 at The Centre, which they are transforming into a Prohibition-era style club over two floors.
The upper floor will be used mainly for acoustic sessions, while the lower floor will be used for live jazz bands.
Fitting out is under way and they hope to open the doors at the end of this month (February).
“We’re really looking forward to opening Crybaby Jazz,” said George. “We’ll be focusing on live music and the bar will serve a great selection of cocktails and wines. Margate is enjoying a real resurgence and there are plenty of venues opening up in the town. The Centre is an ideal location for our bar and we’re working really hard to get everything finished so we can open to customers.
“Margate hasn’t had a jazz bar for a long time, so it’s exciting for us to bring it to the town. It’s a significant investment for us but we believe the bar will be popular.”
Phil Murphy, of Evolve Estates, said: “The Centre is a vibrant shopping precinct, full of independent traders, plus our popular UpMargate creative hub, pop-up and studio space. We’re really pleased George and Freddie recognised that it is the perfect home for their new jazz club and it’s great to see a new concept take space in Margate.”
George and Freddie will run the bar themselves for the first few months, but hope to be in a position to take on staff in the summer.
Crybaby Jazz will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 10am, when it will be open for coffees and pastries, until midnight.
