Club Cafe holds just 150 patrons, but the South Side venue has played an outsized role in the Pittsburgh music scene.
Over the years, it’s hosted local and national acts, including talents on the rise, old favorites and hard-touring regional bands, from future star John Mayer (in 2001) to names like Tori Amos, Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones, Frank Black and Billy Strings.
But after 25 years, owner Michael Sanders, of Opus One Productions, is sounding last call. Club Cafe will close its doors at year’s end, Sanders announced this week.
“It’s been an incredible run, and it felt like the perfect time to move on to other endeavors,” Sanders said in a statement.
Club Cafe was founded in 1999, by Marco and Paula Cardamone, in an intimate space on Bedford Square previously occupied by businesses including a piano club and a neighborhood bar. Opus One purchased it in 2011.
Sanders’ other projects include Margaux café and bar, in East Liberty; Opus One Interactive, an entertainment software company; and Opus One Productions, which produces concert at venues including Stage AE and Mr. Smalls Theater.
Club Cafe was one of the few remaining live-music venues on the South Side. Other acts to perform there over the years include Robyn Hitchcock, Meat Puppets, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Andrew Bird, Lisa Loeb, Frank Black, Fitz and the Tantrums, Gang of Four, Suzanne Vega, The Mekons, Minus The Bear, J Mascis and Nada Surf.
It was also an accessible venue for local bands, whether as headliners or as openers for touring acts.
Shows will continue through the end of December, including special farewell events, Sanders said. He added that forthcoming announcements will include information about “potential opportunities to purchase the business, building, or other assets.”