All are welcome to explore seven floors of restaurants, bars, art and history
On Wednesday, April 24 at 7 a.m., the doors officially open to the new McMenamins Elks Temple in downtown Tacoma. To celebrate the property’s latest chapter as a music venue, brewery, restaurant and hotel, McMenamins is hosting a week of free shows in its newly refurbished Spanish Ballroom, several welcoming all ages.
McMenamins’ team of historians spent years digging through historical records and meeting with Tacoma residents to honor the building and the city’s past – while McMenamins artists made the old new again via murals and paintings. From this moment forward, visitors will wail in the Spanish Ballroom, hotel guests will slumber overlooking Commencement Bay and diners will revel within the property’s artfully bedecked walls.
The refurbished property, a decade in the making, features:
* 45 hotel rooms with private baths; now available for reservations at mcmenamins.com
* McMenamins Pub, the main restaurant that seats 250 guests on the fourth floor; breakfast starts at 7 a.m. daily
* The Old Hangout Bar, a globally-inspired watering hole on the first floor, offering a hurricane of flavor in the form of cocktails from Singapore, Kentucky and everywhere in between; lunch and drinks starting at noon, must be 21 & over
* The Spanish Bar on the second floor; tapas and drinks available starting at 11 a.m.
* Doc’s Bar, a game room on the third floor, including shuffle board, pool and pinball; opens at 11 a.m. for guests 21 & over
* A Bottle Shop & Brewery Tasting Room on the first floor, also serving espresso drinks from 7 a.m.
* A 7-barrel on-site brewery serving up small batches of handcrafted ales
* The Spanish Ballroom, a 700-capacity concert hall, including the following performances; check SpanishBallroomTac.com for event updates
Music:
Wednesday, April 24:
* 11:30 a.m.: Opening day bagpiper performance.
* 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.: Champagne Sunday – With a sound described as, “Pearl Jam meets Bette Midler,” this Tacoma-based rock band will be the first to jam in the Spanish Ballroom. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
* 8 – 10 p.m.: Young Fresh Fellows – This American alternative rock group from Seattle will close out the first night of free performances.
Thursday, April 25:
* 8 p.m.: Knife Knights – A musical duo whose intricate tracks are described as lush shoe-gazey soul. Find out how that sounds through the Spanish Ballroom’s Bose sound system. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 26:
* 8 p.m.: Giants in the Trees – This quartet rock band from Wahkiakum County, Washington pulls their sound and inspiration from the environment and culture of the Lower Columbia River. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 27:
* 8 p.m.: Garcia Birthday Band – Based in Portland and a McMenamins favorite, this group of musicians is known for interpreting and celebrating the musical creations of late Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 28:
* 7 p.m.: Retrospecter – A Tacoma rock band blending delicate and dreamy shoegaze melodies with heavier passages and riffage drawn from their punk roots. Doors open at 6 p.m.
* Cost: $5 (only paid show in the opening week lineup)
Monday, April 29:
* 8 p.m.: An Evening with my Siamese Twin – A talented cover band that plays songs by your favorite alternative bands of the 80s, including The Smiths/Morrissey, The Cure, New Order, The Cult and REM. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30:
* 7 p.m.: An Evening with ERINA – A jazzy, soulful indie rock band out of Olympia that can probably make you dance and cry at the same time. Doors open at 6 p.m.
LOCATION: McMenamins Elks Temple and Spanish Ballroom, 565 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
HOURS: The full property is open to the public starting at 7 a.m. daily; check mcmenamins.com for specific bar and restaurant hours of operation.
CONTACT: For more information, updates on events and where to make to make room reservations, visit www.mcmenamins.com, SpanishBallroomTac.com or contact the following:
McMenamins Elks Temple: (425) 219-4370
Spanish Ballroom Box Office: (425) 219-4370
About McMenamins: McMenamins operates 55 distinctive pubs, restaurants and historic hotels in the Pacific Northwest. Founded by brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin with a single Portland neighborhood pub in 1983, McMenamins continues to be a family-owned company, operating nine Washington locations and 46 Oregon properties, 19 on the National Register of Historic Places. McMenamins handcrafts its own beer, wine, spirits, cider and coffee and offers an eclectic mix of pubs, hotels, movie theaters, concert venues, spas and events for guests to enjoy. For more information, visit mcmenamins.com.
– McMenamins
