Name of Business: Vintage Lounge and Piano Bar
Location: 130 W. Main St.
Hours of Operation: 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Contact: 209-668-4680
History of Business: With a fresh look and more space, Vintage Lounge and Piano Bar has opened the doors to their new location.
The larger space means no more overcrowding as experienced in their former, smaller location just a few doors down.
“We outgrew the former location, and were consistently having to turn people away because there wasn’t enough space,” said Joe Morais, manager at the Vintage Lounge. “With the amount of customers that we were receiving, we needed to expand.”
Nearly double in size, the new location underwent extreme remodeling, now featuring a classy, sophisticated style and design that has been a hit with customers.
“We’re very happy with it,” said Morais. “The first night we opened, we had a ton of customers come in, and even though it was supposed to be a soft opening, everyone wanted to come and check it out.”
Dan Gray, owner of the Vintage Lounge, Center Street Grill and Shooters Wings and Things, opened the downtown bar at the former location on Jan. 17, 2009. Although unplanned, the new location was revealed to the public exactly five years later to the date.
When Gray opened the first location in 2009, the Vintage Lounge was the only late night business on the westside of Main Street. Since then, the business has thrived, bringing in hundreds of nightlife customers each weekend.
“When we started, we were the only thing this side of the tracks. People thought we wouldn’t make it,” said Morais. “But now, here we are expanding. Before, people were going to Modesto and further places looking for a night scene, and we decided that we wanted to keep them here in Turlock. Now we have people from Modesto, Stockton and other places coming here. Who would’ve thought?”
The Vintage Lounge will continue to offer their well-known entertainment services, including comedy nights featuring San Francisco and Bay Area comedians on the first Tuesday of each month, soloists and duet groups on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and local live bands on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We bring in some of the best bands in the area,” said Morais. “We’ll also be having our piano player here more, at least four nights a week from six to eight. People can come in and have cocktails and listen to the piano music while they wait for their tables at Dust Bowl or one of the local restaurants…Downtown is getting bigger and better. We think it’s really exciting with all the new businesses that are coming in. It’s a great place to be.”
Business Specialty: Nightlife, full bar, live bands, comedy nights, dancing, live piano.
