The Croc to Rock Again!
February 4th, 2009
The folks over at The Stranger’s Line Out blog have a published a peek inside the forthcoming revamped and renamed Crocodile. Notice there is no “Cafe” in the name now. Better still is the expansion of the all-important main room. While I had lunch there a few times, it looks like a good move to eliminate the eating area of the south/Blanchard side of the space. What occupies the wall now is long, easily-accessible bar that will face the redesigned and enlarged stage area. Scroll down to the eye-level profile shot of the bar, and note the depth of the area behind the bar. Few places, save for the Key Arena, Showbox Market, and Showbox Sodo (nee Premier Club), have such a generous and well-designed workspace for the hard-workin’ bartender. (Some of you might have known this writer in a past life when he worked behind a bar that wasn’t so well-designed. Apologies to all whose beers were tipped by my belt buckle.)
Some other changes:
- The elimination of the dreaded Pole. You know which one I’m talkin’ about. (Good news!)
- Presumble removal of the Transformer-esque partition between the main room and old cafe space. (Better still!)
- Higher ceilings! Will this preserve the great sound in that room? (Hope so!)
- Via Tribunali will be taking over food-service duties. (Meh.)
Questions remain:
- Will the Green Room be revived?
- Will the VIP loft remain?
- Why the eff are the selling tickets through t-bastard?
- And perhaps most importantly, who will be booking the joint?
Some bands are boasting shows there in April, so expect a grand opening in the coming weeks. Ain’t it great knowing that an old favorite’s coming back, and not being leveled for condo construction?
February 4th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
LB said:
Saw that post yesterday — I was surprised how unfinished it looked. They had pretty good food before, especially breakfast, but I like Via Tribunali, so I’m happy with that. You might’ve noticed this phrase about the staff: “Eli Anderson as talent buyer, Roy Atizado as director of live entertainment, and Jim Anderson helping with sound.”
February 4th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
:: Seattle Sound Magazine said:
[...] Sneak peek at the Crocodile’s revamp. SEATTLE SUBSONIC Leave a Reply [...]
February 4th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
chris morales said:
I was in the croc last week. It’s very skeletal… as with how tight lipped they are remaining about the operations of the new place.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:13 am
misterlevitan said:
Thanks for the proofread, LB!
February 5th, 2009 at 10:56 am
C-Leb said:
One of my buddies helped gut the place and we got to pine over all the memorabilia left over the years… schwag, merch, probably over 2000 local and international cd’s (some real gems)… a picture of Kurt in the Croc (which we had to return) and best of all… the bamboo bar that was in the main room which is now set up in our garage/jam space in Ballard… so technically the Croc bar has been open to us for about 2 months… and btw LB if you’d a seen the kitchen before this remodel started you’d honestly regret ever eating there… makes me second guess my 2am Hurricane cafe urges that for sure…
February 5th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Kevin leDoux said:
Here’s a list of who’s billed to play the first couple months of the Croc.
But the question remains.. WHO will play the first show?!?
With the amount of grunge influence of the new owners, one can only imagine that it will be one of the Seattle icons.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
LB said:
Well, unfortunately you could probably say that about a lot of the restaurants I’ve eaten at over the years, C-Leb. Dually noted, however. That’s pretty cool that you were able to search through the Croc’s leftovers. Tell me, did they find the trench coat I left there back in ’94?
February 5th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
C-Leb said:
No… but ask me at the next HH and I’ll tell you the whole story and what we did get… its pretty funny and crazy… theres no way i can post it on the blog :O hey we got the original bar, maybe we should have our own Croc bar pre-reopening??
February 5th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
The Lady said:
Just as long as Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick and Matt Dillon are there on opening night, I’ll be a happy.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Jules said:
Woohoo, maitais in c-lebs garage!
February 6th, 2009 at 12:46 am
misterlevitan said:
Invite Barrett Martin for mai-tais. I bet he has some of the best stories ever, viewing shows from the VIP loft.