Jazziz Bistro to Open in South Florida

[JazzJunkie]

Jazziz Publisher's Letter October 2004

The cat’s out of the bag. The first JAZZIZ Bistro & Live Music venue is opening at the Hard Rock Casino & Resort in South Florida later this year. But if you think it’s going to be just a restaurant slapping the jazz imprimatur on a sign, think again. It’s about jazz education.
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Truth is, I’ve never liked the restaurant business. Too unpredictable. But when we were asked by the Hard Rock Resort developers to consider opening a jazz club, I decided to have a go at it — with a few stipulations. First of all, I secured the services of experienced restaurateur Burt Rapoport (he’s opened 40 restaurants) to ensure that people who aren’t necessarily jazz fans will come for the food. Then I brought in another partner, Jerry Klauder, who has built more than 1,200 restaurants to date. Klauder managed to build a venue that is both scalable and replicable. After all, if we get this one right, it could work in other cities, too.
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So the food and ambience at the JAZZIZ Bistro will be as good as it gets, and the physical space and design have been engineered to accommodate dining, live performances, and retailing. But one of the frequently overlooked advantages of opening this club is the opportunity we’ll have to use it for educational purposes. During morning hours, we’ll offer clinics to students and music teachers. And already we’ve invited high school and higher-level music students to record music and videos in the club on a “wired” stage, designed by Jim Gabour (who’s done similar work for Norah Jones and the House of Blues franchise). We’re hoping that the experience will sharpen their skills and someday help them take their art into the world of commerce. Basically, we plan on making jazz education an integral component of the JAZZIZ Bistro. And we plan on making it fun in ways that are unavailable in traditional classrooms.
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As with our magazine, the JAZZIZ Bistro will exist largely to present the world of jazz to our customers. Many people who come to the club will be experiencing jazz for the first time. So we’re looking at the whole enterprise as not only a business opportunity, but a privilege to share a little of what we’ve learned about jazz and jazz education during the last 20 years. We hope you’ll join us.
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—Michael Fagien

Link: http://www.jazziz.com/pages/current_...0PubLetter.asp

[bluenoter]

The venue is opening "later this year" (within the next two and a half months, presumably), but the only description of its location is "South Florida"?

[the_Abbot]

The venue is opening "later this year" (within the next two and a half months, presumably), but the only description of its location is "South Florida"?

Im assuming it is going to be located at the new Hard Rock casino in Holywood Florida on the Seminole Indian reservation on State Road 7 and Stirling Road.