London-based hospitality and nightlife group, The Columbo Group have spent the first half of 2016 improving their expert roster of live music and entertainment venues.
This May, The Columbo Group will re-launch one of North London’s most renowned venues:
The Jazz Café in Camden; takeover the renowned indie music venue, Barfly in Camden; and launch a new London music festival, SunFall. These latest acquisitions bring the growing business’ portfolio of restaurants, bars, clubs and live music venues in the capital to ten, with the addition of music festivals to their expertise.
After 25 years, The Jazz Café temporarily closed its doors following a successful purchase by The Columbo Group who have long held great affection for the legendary venue. The North London venue has played host to the likes of Lee Scratch Perry, D’Angelo, Lana Del Ray, Courtney Pine, Bobby Womack and Amy Winehouse over the years and is considered to be a London landmark. The Columbo Group’s redevelopment was part of a strategy to bring the venue up to present day standards whilst simultaneously aiming to recreate its heyday. The renovations and alterations included structural, technical and aesthetic improvements such as the 69-seater dining area located on the remodelled mezzanine that will cater for an improved food and drink offering alongside a brand new D&B Sound System meaning the audio experience will be of the highest quality. The Jazz Café will reopen on 24 May 2016 and will celebrate with a fortnight of the best in jazz, funk, hip hop and electronic music. The food and beverage offering will see menu items such as Chicken Yakitori in soy and sake; Seared Tuna Fatoush and avocado; Brisket and Bone Marrow Burger; and a delicious S’mores cake on the dessert menu. The bar will serve cocktails, both classic and contemporary: Negroni’s; Penicillin; and Old Fashioned, as well as having a broadly stocked bar.
The Columbo Group, which has an annual turnover of £30m, and employs around 300, is proud to reopen such a prolific venue. Steve Ball, founder and CEO of The Columbo Group comments: “Many of us here at The Columbo Group have a personal history at The Jazz Café; its early days have fed into what we do at our other venues a great deal. What makes this purchase so special is that we now have the chance to channel that history in to taking The Jazz Café forward. With a huge respect for the work they’ve done and for the greats that have played there we’re looking forward to taking this venue to the next level. There are elements of all aspects of The Jazz Café that we’ve improved on taking from the experiences of our other venues including XOYO, whilst of course respecting the lineage of what The Jazz Café has come to represent.”
Recently acquired, live music venue the Barfly in Camden will become The Columbo Group’s third music venue in the North London area. Long known to many as a staple on the gig circuit, The Barfly has seen the likes of Coldplay, Blur, Oasis, The Strokes and The Libertines, as well as a collection of up and coming acts that are often penned as the next big thing. Barfly will continue to operate in its present form, just taking on board the new ownership.
The first music festival from the group, SunFall, will launch this July promising to bring a celebration of the underground to London’s Brockwell Park. Curated by a group of people who live and breathe music, the festival promotes the sounds of London and its far-reaching scenes and sounds. The festival will implement new booking techniques to mirror the day and night programming of the festival, with each ticket purchased giving the ticketholder entry to the outdoor day festival as well as a night-session of their choice. Artists will include Benji B’s Deviation, Goldie’s Metalheadz, Dimensions Festival (Croatia), Phonox presents From Glasgow to Detroit, Studio 89, Outlook Festival x Just Jam, Mister Saturday Night x Rhythm Section and A Taste of Afrobeat Vibration as night-time hosts.
The Columbo Group was founded by Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh in 2006. Known for their multifaceted approach to the bar, restaurant and club industries, they are unique in their approach to business. With an outsider’s perspective and an understanding of young Londoners’ resistance to one-dimensional offerings and need for great food, drinks and live music under one roof they have gone on to expand at the rate of about one site per year, bringing the collection to 10 venues plus a music festival. Its existing venues include: The Old Queens Head in Islington (2006); Paradise By Way Of Kensal Green (2008); XOYO in Shoreditch (2011); The Blues Kitchen (Camden – 2009, Shoreditch – 2014, Brixton – 2015); The Nest in Dalston (2010); Phonox (2015). The company is known for its distinctive and stylish interior design, its roster of cutting edge live acts, DJs and broad-minded approach to cuisine from BBQ and all-American diner fare to top quality classic British cookery.