The Big Room entertainment venue ready to rock 1,500-capacity shows next to GR’s Silva

Part of an impressive entertainment complex/restaurant on Ottawa Avenue in Grand Rapids, the new venue debuts with a free Valerie June concert on Memorial Day. Take a tour, get the lowdown at Local Spins.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO & PHOTO TOURS OF SILVA & THE BIG ROOM

Patrons and employees alike say there’s absolutely nothing like Silva — a restaurant and “dinnertainment” destination that opened in Grand Rapids earlier this year with a recreation room, indoor bocce ball courts and roaming, circus-like entertainers.

Now, that unusual and spacious new hot spot at 975 Ottawa Ave. NW is about to uncork even more grandiose experiences with the debut of a 1,500-capacity music and entertainment venue next door.

Dubbed “The Big Room,” the sprawling concert hall adjoining Silva will host its first show on Memorial Day (May 26) starring Grammy Award-nominated country, blues, rock and R&B singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June.

After the first free show to test out the new venue, “get it under our belt” and “figure out what we’re going to be,” Silva founder and owner Mark Secchia said he hopes a wide variety of concerts and different entertainment events can regularly roll out in The Big Room.

“I would love it if at least every two weeks or once every month, at least, that we actually have something fun, interesting going up than just the boss’s nephew who thinks he’s good on the drums,” Secchia quipped, noting that the entire complex is all about creating energy and excitement. “Energy begets energy and we need that in here.”

Talent buyer Quinn Mathews said The Big Room is “adaptable to many different styles of performances in the layout of the room,” from a standing-room capacity of 1,500 for a rock show to seated events that could include comedy, theatrical performances, DJ gigs and even in-the-round shows. The room is equipped with multiple bars, a full catering kitchen, high-tech audio system and a large high-definition screen.

The back of the room even features large, stained-glass windows reclaimed from a century-old church in Kalamazoo.

“The key here is entertainment, celebration and creativity all combined whether you have entered the space for a music performance, a night of theatre, comedy, magic or for a wonderful community event,” said Mathews, former music and programming director for Studio Park’s Midtown venue.

And because “you can’t get the true story and personality of a new space without people experiencing it,” Mathews said The Big Room is inviting concertgoers to a free 7:30 p.m. May 26 show with Tennessee native Valerie June, who just released a new studio album, “Owls, Omens, and Oracles.”

Attendees must go online here to get free tickets to the concert. (Scroll down to watch Valerie June’s latest music video.)

A FUTURE FILLED WITH NATIONAL TOURING ACTS, THEATER, COMEDY & MORE

The Big Room follows its Memorial Day soft opening with an “Adult Prom” event on June 21 and Cacao & Sound Ceremony on Aug. 3. Tickets available online at silvagr.com/thebigroom/.

Mathews said more concerts and events will be scheduled for the fall as The Big Room begins to ramp up its entertainment offerings, ready to reach out “on the national radar for touring artists” and “partner with promoters in the region as well as community organizations for many different types of events and performances.”

With an overall investment of more than $15 million, Silva and The Big Room are housed in what was once the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company Factory complex which boasts a robust history that Silva has embraced in many of its inventively decorated spaces, including separate rooms for dining and group gatherings.

Covering more than 55,000 square feet, the building over the decades has hosted not only furniture-making, but indoor boxing and tennis, the Autodie Fitness Center and more.

Silva has added to that history, in part, but creating five indoor bocce ball courts at a cost of $250,000, bringing in workers from Italy to complete the project. A “rec room” down the hall from the restaurant features dart boards, a pool table and TV screens.

The idea, Secchia said, is to entice restaurant patrons to continue exploring and enjoying Silva long after their meals. And so far, that’s worked.

“We need to get you in 40 minutes before your meal or 45 minutes after your meal to roam around and do something,” he said, noting that the concept has especially attracted audiences in their 20s and 30s. “I did not figure how young our crowd would be.”

Secchia said he first floated the idea for a spacious entertainment complex while residing in Shanghai, but the cost there was prohibitive. Eventually, he settled on the Berkey & Gay building in the North Monroe District near downtown Grand Rapids.

Inspired, in part, by the Tootsie Van Kelly’s “good-time” saloon that operated inside the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel until 1995, Silva even sports the massive moosehead from Tootsie’s.

But The Big Room, in particular, holds the most intrigue for concertgoers and entertainment seekers, adding to Grand Rapids’ growing venue options. (By comparison, The Intersection’s main showroom also has a capacity of 1,500, DeVos Performance Hall seats about 2,500, and GLC Live at 20 Monroe can host up to 2,600 attendees.)

Silva and The Big Room also are served by free street parking available on Ottawa Avenue and a free parking lot to the south off Mason Street NW. There also eventually will be paid parking available in a ramp below the Silva/Big Room building.

VIDEO: Silva and The Big Room

PHOTO GALLERY: Silva and The Big Room
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker

VIDEO: Valerie June, “Joy, Joy!” (from “Owls, Omens, and Oracles”)

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