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Owners of music venue plan to add restaurant, coffee shop to space

<p>DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BRAMMER</p>

DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BRAMMER

Address: 1501 W Kilgore Ave.

Hours: 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday - Thursday, 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday - Saturday

The owners of The Acoustic Room, a small music venue in downtown Muncie, hopes his business can be more than just a place for musicians to play.

Co-owner Scott Gates’ vision for the space includes a restaurant, a coffee shop and a vinyl store to go with the bar and music venue. On July 10, Gates will be able to check “restaurant” off his to-do list when Lildaddy’s Loaded Nachos moves in.

Keith Martz, owner of Lildaddy’s Loaded Nachos, was looking to resurrect his former business, and has rented out the kitchen space in the building.

“[Martz] was looking to reopen another place but when this opportunity came up … he said he would rather do it because that way he doesn’t have to be totally invested in a whole property,” Gates said. “He just wants the actual kitchen side of it, so it’s going to work out to both our benefits. He has an established name and people know his food.”

Gates said he will focus on the coffee shop and vinyl store after the kitchen is up and running, but for now he is working on attracting more people to the venue, especially college students. Gates said he’s already had a few musical acts from Ball State, and encourages more to come and play.

“Our goal right now is to really keep growing, keep bringing in new people,” Gates said. “We’d love to get more of the Ball State crowd in … that would be fantastic. We’re not that far away.”

Word of mouth from customers is what Gates said he’s counting on to attract people to his business, along with social media marketing and advertisements. He said so far his business has been successful, both financially and in customer satisfaction.

“Everyone that’s come in — that’s artist and patrons both — really have positive things to say about it, the way the sound is,” Gates said. “They just really enjoy it. It’s a really relaxed, comfortable feeling is what they’ve said, mostly.”

The Acoustic Room has also attracted plenty of musicians, Gates said. There are usually two bands booked per night on Fridays and Saturdays, and Chad Nordhoff, a Muncie musician, plays at The Acoustic Room every Thursday night.

“As an artist, it’s just an open environment. It’s welcoming, it’s more about the creativity and the energy in the room rather than just the business or the schedule or the booking and the business end of it,” Nordhoff said. “It’s just easy, it’s comfortable … it’s got a homey feel to it.”

Gates said Nordhoff has been a loyal patron since the beginning.

“When I opened this up, he was there on my first night, and he’s never left,” Gates said. “He’s a huge supporter, he’s constantly posting on his Facebook page and his Facebook music page about the positive things that are happening over there and encouraging people to be a part of it.”

He said he’s performed at different venues in Muncie, but The Acoustic Room is the place he feels most at ease. He said he hopes to stay there as long as he can.

“I’ve been playing downtown and just, I don’t know, just kind of faded over to The Acoustic Room … I love all the places I’ve played around here but it just kind of became home,” Nordhoff said. “I think as long as I’m here, and hopefully we kind of keep picking up steam … I’d like to stay there.”

The Acoustic Room first opened on March 27 and is located on Kilgore Avenue.

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