New Grosse Pointe Farms club Dirty Dog to serve tapas and jazz
Opens next week in Grosse Pointe Farms
February 7, 2008
BY MARK STRYKER
FREE PRESS MUSIC WRITER
Don't look now, but Gretchen Valade is at it again. The Detroit philanthropist and heir to the Carhartt clothing fortune who put up $10 million dollars two years ago to endow the Detroit International Jazz Festival has once again put her money where her passion is.
Valade is the owner of the Dirty Dog, a new jazz club and restaurant opening next week in the heart of Grosse Pointe Farms. Valade has poured more than $1 million into transforming a former flower shop on Kercheval into a cozy, 65-seat jazz bistro featuring English pub décor, a tapas menu and straight-ahead jazz four nights a week. The venue will focus primarily on top local talent.
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Attrition is high among new restaurants and even more severe in jazz, where the best way to make $1 million is to start with $2 million. But Valade has deep pockets, a business plan she and her advisers believe can break even -- and the stubbornness of a true believer.
"It's hard to make money in jazz," says Valade, who also owns Mack Avenue Records, a locally based national label. "You've got to love it or forget it."
First up will be a band led by Mack Avenue artists Carl Allen on drums and Rodney Whitaker on bass and featuring young vocalist Jennifer Sanon, known for her work with Wynton Marsalis.
Even though it faces challenges, metro Detroit's jazz scene is on a roll. Stalwart clubs like Baker's Keyboard Lounge and Bert's Marketplace in Detroit and the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor have been joined in recent years by such new venues as the Jazz Café at Music Hall, Cliff Bell's, Seldom Blues and Bohemian National Home (all in Detroit) and Arturo's in Southfield.
Each has its own vibe, favored styles and mix between local players and national acts. The Dirty Dog will be the first significant spot for jazz on the east side. The club promises a unique approach, booking by the week rather than individual nights.
"That's a unique and exciting opportunity," says Detroit tenor saxophonist Steve Wood, who will perform Feb. 20-23. "It allows a band to coalesce and do more demanding kinds of material because you've got four nights to develop."
Valade sat in a booth at the Dirty Dog last week to discuss the club's profile. Nearby were Tom Robinson -- Valade's right-hand man, the CEO of Mack Avenue, president of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation and a building contractor by trade -- and Matt Lee, a longtime Detroit music publicist who is in charge of booking the music.
Plans are still a bit fluid, but the initial blueprint has the restaurant taking reservations for seatings at 5, 7:30 and 10 p.m. with music by the featured act starting at 8 and 10:15 p.m. A solo pianist will perform from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for early diners. There will be no cover charge to start, but patrons for the 8 p.m. show will be expected to eat. Eventually, the club will institute a modest music charge that will increase for the occasional out-of-town headliner.
The club will be open from 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, with off-days and lunches available for private parties and events.
Shaped like a shoe box, the Dirty Dog has a clubby feel, with dark wood paneling, rust-colored walls, banquettes, antique fixtures and an eight-seat bar tucked in the back. Jazz posters dot the walls, and the big 19th-Century English painting of a springer spaniel and puppies anchored behind the bar used to reside in Valade's home Up North. Near the front are two massive stone sculptures of dogs. (A dog nut -- duh -- Valade shares her Grosse Pointe Farms home with three golden retrievers).
Stage lights are built into the oak beams, and an in-house sound system feeds a dozen speakers. Digital audio and video recording equipment has been installed, too.
Chef Andre Neimanis, who previously worked locally at the Hill and at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla., has created a small-plate menu with dishes like Beef Brisket Sliders ($8) and Peppered Ahi Tuna Seveche ($14).
Valade said the club represents a logical next step after her record label and involvement with the jazz festival, but the idea came to her out of the blue. "I wanted a small place, with ambience," says Valade.
She also wants the music to come first. Lee noted that when he put together a booking plan and budget, Valade's first reaction was to increase the dollars allotted to the musicians. "I know a lot of wealthy people who like music, but she's made a real commitment because of her love for the music," he says.
Still, creating a jazz club that works is tricky, especially with a restaurant involved. The music can easily become sonic wallpaper for conversation among diners. There's a mystical alchemy to a hip jazz club that emerges organically from a combination of things like bookings, acoustics, décor and the crowd.
Wood, for one, likes the Dirty Dog's chances. "A new club opening in the area -- that's the best news a jazz musician can possibly get."
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