Karaoke meets 'Blade Runner' aesthetic at this new downtown Phoenix bar
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Fans of '80s and early '90s pop culture will find a lot to love about Thundercat Lounge in downtown Phoenix as they pass through an entrance designed in the style of a Star Wars light tunnel to enter a nightclub named in honor of an animated TV series that originally aired from 1985-1989.
Housed in a 2,821-square-foot historic building at 747 W. Van Buren St. just west of Seventh Avenue in downtown Phoenix, the visually immersive Thundercat is opening in January 2024.
The club will resemble the food court at a '90s shopping mall with neon lights and mirrored ceilings.
The restrooms have what owner Jeremiah Gratza calls a "Pee-wee's Playhouse" and "Saved by the Bell" aesthetic.
There's a private Japanese-style karaoke room in the 450-square-foot basement with more of a "Blade Runner" aesthetic. Gratza says he says he's been working with Spectacle, the team responsible for the art installations at Pemberton PHX, on the karaoke room.
Thundercat co-owner: 'I just have a lot of love for the '80s'
"I was born in the '80s," Gratza says. "I'm a big nerd. I have Alf collectibles. I collect VHS tapes and old Nintendo video games. I just have a lot of love for the '80s. And I hope that other people do, too. I'm super stoked about it."
He's been wanting to do this since Cobra Arcade.
"I was originally one of the owners of Cobra Arcade," Gratza says. "And when we were coming up with the concept for Cobra, I really wanted to do this kind of '80s Max Headroom, neon lights, Pepsi-type arcade bar, and my partner didn't. He wanted to go with a different aesthetic.
"It's ultimately one of the reasons why we ended up splitting paths. So I'm glad to finally be able to have my original vision I had for that club come to fruition."
Thundercat partners also own Thunderbird Lounge in Phoenix
Gratza and his business partner in this undertaking, Jacob Wiedmann, also own Thunderbird Lounge, which opened in April 2019 at 710 W. Montecito Ave., off Seventh Avenue in the Melrose District of Phoenix.
That bar has more of a late '70s, early '80s vibe.
As Gratza says, "I kind of like the idea of 'Hey, we have the one '70s bar; let's open an '80s bar and kind of go from there, see how theming these bar concepts goes and can we open two or three more of these down the line?' I have some other ideas."
The similar names of these sister clubs are Gratza's way of "keeping it in the family, a little tongue-in-cheek."
The Thundercat Lounge is the latest addition to a thriving downtown music scene, a short walk from the Van Buren, Valley Bar and Crescent Ballroom.
It's also not far from the Grand Avenue Arts District, the Roosevelt Row Arts District, Footprint Center, Arizona Financial Theatre, Symphony Hall, the Phoenix Convention Center, Chase Field, and the downtown ASU Campus.
The building can hold 200 people. The enclosed patio on the eastern side of the property can hold another 200 people.
The music at Thundercat Lounge will be primarily DJs
The club will have a floor-to-ceiling video wall, a DJ booth and a four-point PK sound system.
"In a traditional venue like Valley Bar or Rebel Lounge, you have a line-array front-facing sound system on stage and it faces the audience," Gratza says.
"At Thundercat, the four speakers are in the corners of the club and point to the center of the dance floor. So when you're dancing, you get a full 3D sound array from the DJ."
The music at Thundercat Lounge will be primarily DJ dance nights.
"There may be live bands," Gratza says. "But they're going to gear more towards electronic bands with synthesizers, drum machines and loops, stuff like that. It's definitely going to steer towards the electronic dance side of things."
Gratza feels there are plenty of small clubs booking rock acts in the Valley, citing Rebel Lounge and Valley Bar as two examples of clubs he feels have got that covered.
The historic Art Deco building was designed in 1938
It's been almost two years now since Gratza started with the architect on Thundercat.
"It's been a while," he says. "We're doing basically historical preservation on the building."
The building was designed by architect Orville A. Bell in 1938.
"He designed a bunch of the houses in Encanto," Gratza says. "This was a Work Projects Administration construction program, and it's one of the last standing Art Deco buildings in Phoenix alongside the Arizona Biltmore Hotel and the Orpheum Theatre."
The Arizona Republic reported at the time that the building was designed at an estimated cost of $25,000 as the adjutant general's office of the Arizona National Guard to replace the one destroyed by fire on the state Capitol grounds in early 1938.
"When they contacted Orville A. Bell, they were like, 'We need to make sure it's fireproof,'" Gratza says. "So the entire building — floor, ceiling, walls, everything — is concrete and 100% fireproof, which is kind of crazy."
In recent years, the space has served as an administrative building for the City of Phoenix.
Thundercat will be part nightclub, part neighborhood bar
The patio at Thundercat will be surrounded by a 6-foot wall.
"We're gonna have pink astroturf and it's gonna be dog-friendly for people in the neighborhood," Graza says.
"We want it to kind of be a hybrid neighborhood bar/live entertainment venue. One of the things that we've learned with Thunderbird is how important a neighborhood bar is to the community. And in the neighborhood that we're moving into, there's not really a lot of neighborhood bars."
To that end, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights will feature things like karaoke, trivia and bingo.
"Those kinds of things have worked really well for us over at Thunderbird and are consistent for the neighborhood," Gratza says.
"Also, the patio is going to always be free to the public, no matter whether there's a paid event inside or not. So if you want to come down with your dog or you want to ride your bike and have a beer, we're going to have a bar on the outside patio. And you can always come and hang out."
Some of the events inside will be free as well.
"We're kind of finding that line between the hard-ticketed and the soft-ticketed events," Gratza says.
Of the first 15 shows announced, half are free with RSVP; the other half require a paid ticket.
"The plan is to cover costs with the bar sales," Gratza says.
The Thundercat won't have a kitchen.
"But we plan on having food trucks pop up like we have at Thunderbird Lounge," Gratza says.
Thundercat Lounge announces 15 events for 2024
Those first events include an all-reggaeton party, a DJ set from Com Truise, an old-school hip-hop night, a Star Wars Sith Rave (on May 4th, of course) and a country dance night.
"I think there's a little bit of something for everyone," Gratza says.
"There's a little bit of Latin. There's a little bit of the older hip-hop. There's a country dance night. There's a little bit of house music. You have some of that fun stuff, like the Lisa Frank rave and the 'Star Wars' rave that are just fun dance parties. And obviously, having the floor-to-ceiling video wall, we'll be able to show like the Super Bowl and things like that too."
Gratza is a longtime fixture on the Valley music scene, having been in the business for 22 years.
"I had my own company, President Gator, and then I became the director of operations for Stateside in 2007 and ended up being a talent buyer for Live Nation," Gratza says.
"So coming full circle to finally owning my own place that I can put events, it's exciting. Seeing Charlie (Levy) open Crescent, Valley Bar and the Van Buren after promoting shows for so long without a room of his own and then, Steve (Chilton) open Rebel after promoting shows for so long, it just feels like a natural progression of like, 'Hey, I've been in Phoenix promoting shows since 2001. And I've finally have my own space to call my own now.'"
Thundercat Lounge: Who's playing in 2024
Friday, Jan. 12: OnlyPerreo All Reggaeton Party.
Saturday, Jan. 13: Lisa Frank Rave.
Saturday, Jan. 20: Old School: Hip-Hop Dance Party.
Thursday, Feb. 1: Colorize Presents Praana Live North America Tour 2024.
Saturday, Feb. 3: Western Dreamland: A Country & Disco Party.
Saturday, Feb. 10: Bootycorns (house DJs).
Saturday, Feb. 17: Hotel Pools (vaporwave artist).
Saturday, Feb. 24: Black Lodge/White Lodge | Twin Peaks Day Fan Event.
Friday, March 8: Nasaya (DJ).
Saturday, March 9: That Big '80s Party.
Friday, March 15: Satin Jackets (DJ).
Saturday, March 23: Option4 (DJ).
Friday, May 3: Com Truise (DJ).
Saturday, May 4: May the Fourth: Star Wars Sith Rave.
Thursday, May 9: Ash (Egyptian EDM artist).
Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EdMasley.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix club Thundercat Lounge brings '80s vibes to downtown
