Bridge Street Live Expands Options

Editor’s Note: The full-dinner option at Bridge Street Live has been pushed back. We will update this as soon as it’s available. 

As reopens this week, the venue’s operators are working on incorporating expanded dining options into the concert experience.

After a winter hiatus, the venue reopens Thursday with the acoustic rock band The Adam Ezra Group.

Concert-goers will still have the option of ordering from a cabaret menu at the venue but after March 31, a full dinner menu will be added for the first time.  

“I’m definitely really excited about the restaurant component,” Executive Chef Steven Day said. 

The three-course dinners will feature a wide array of choices. 

Among the first-course options, ranging from $9 to $13, are shrimp cocktail martini, farmers bruschetta and Bridge Street escargot.

Second-course choices, priced $7 to $9,  include French onion soup gratin, baby spinach salad, and market salad.

Third course offerings, ranging from $19 to $28 will include choices such as seared Maryland crab cakes, roasted chicken cavatelli, roasted half  Long Island duck and porter braised lamb shank.

Initially dinner will be open to those who buy a ticket for the show.

The dinner décor with fine china, linen napkins and wine selection will fit in nicely with the art deco theme of the venue, Ryan said.

The cabaret menu, available this month from 5 to 10 p.m. and starting next month, from 7 to 10 p.m., features offerings like sandwiches, wraps, paninis and hummus and pita chips

That menu is still “no forks required” and will feature mini burgers this year, which Day said many people had requested.

“I think we certainly have a lot to offer down there,” Day said.

Another aspect that will be added this spring is outside dining, when a large wrap-around deck at the facility will open.

“You can eat along the river before the show,” said Pat Ryan, entertainment consultant for the venue.

But while the venue hopes the food offerings will add to the experience and bring in more customers, the music is still the main feature of Bridge Street Live.

“We’re here for the music,” Ryan said.

Since it opened last fall, the venue has brought in a mix of musicians, including some well-known names like J. Geils and John McEuen.

This year, the venue will bring in a variety of styles again, from blues to Americana to rock to swing to comedy. Some shows even feature dancing but all have a relaxed social atmosphere, Ryan said.

“What I’m trying to do is build a very eclectic calendar,” Ryan said.

Some music, such as metal, may have its fans but just doesn’t fit the venue, Ryan added. 

“My booking is not radical by any means,” Ryan said. "It’s all about the artists that really fit in with the room.”

Upcoming shows include artists as diverse as Lipbone Redding and The LipBone Orchestra March 19, John Lee Hooker, Jr. April 20, Laurence Juber April 10, Jim Weider's PRoJECT PERCoLAToR April 29, Jill Sobule & John Doe Thursday March 31 and The Steel Wheels w/ Poor Old Shine April 21.

A few locally based bands will play the venue as well. Local dance group 4TH Time Around will play for the first time at the venue May 14. Popular Collinsville singer Jeremy Wallace plays May 6. Another is Heirlooms, who will play with John Parson and Carrie Johnson March 27.

Neal Spencer, Collinsville resident and drummer for Heirlooms, said the venue brings a whole new dimension to the Collinsville music scene.

“So far I’ve been amazed by what they’ve been able to do,” Spencer said.

Heirlooms also played the venue last fall with Moon Taxi.

Spencer said it can be a challenge to get some of the band’s fans that go to shows in Hartford to come to Collinsville but said it’s a great place to play music.

“We’re very excited to play in a venue that’s so well put together,” he said. 

Heirlooms singer Jesse Stanford said Bridge Street is a great place where people can really listen to the band’s intricate sounds.

“I think that one thing that Connecticut lacks is venues that serve as listening rooms,” he said. “It’s a great space and a beautiful venue.”

The venue also tries to keep ticket prices low.

“Making entertainment accessible for people is really important,” Ryan said.

Shows generally feature general admission and VIP seating. General admission prices range from $12 to $25. VIP tickets are generally $10 extra. 

At this Thursday’s show, the venue is collecting items for The House Of Bread soup kitchen and kid's cafe in Hartford.  A list of needed items can be found at www.41bridgestreet.com/calendar/index.php?id=112

 “I’m really big on doing benefits,” Ryan said. “I just think it’s a great thing to do.” 

For more information on all the shows, log on to www.41bridgestreet.com.