Everything seems bigger, but with a big
ger room comes a higher cost of staying
open. “Overhead will be higher, bottom line.
Overhead was high before!" says Greene. Aside
from the physical renovations, another major
change that came with the new ownership and
management in 2004 was a renewed commit
ment to showcasing local talent, something
bigger rooms are often reluctant to do. Many
Theatre-goers will recall ex-Elf Power guitar
ist Jimmy Hughes' marathon local shows circa
2008.
"It's going to be harder, but we're going to
make a very conscientious effort to make sure
we still do it," says Orvold. "We're definitely
committed to making sure that locals are able
to grow into this room and that we’re able
to still do that. I'm also very much going to
try every chance we get to put locals in front
of national touring support, and to create
opportunities that a local band wouldn't have
before. So, when they're able te support doing
a show in here, it's gonna be a real step as far
as accelerating their career."
On the second level above the main floor,
audiences will discover something that was
nonexistent in the Theatre's previous life: a
place to find some quiet. "One of the things
we thought the Georgia Theatre never had was
a quiet space to get away from the music a
little bit, if you needed a spot to kind of chill
and step out for a second, somewhere to meet
people," says Orvold. The lounge area, which
directly overlooks the marquee, will have com
fortable seating and, for the grand reopening,
a photographic presentation of the Theatre's
phoenix-like development from smoldering
walls to full-fledged venue.
Taking the stairs (or the new elevator) up
to the third floor, Athenians—show-going or
not—can take advantage of another revenue-
increasing aspect to the new Theatre: the
rooftop restaurant. Which is named... nothing,
so far. "We've talked about that a lot, and the
marquee on the side says 'Classic Triple'; I'm
curious to see if that name will stick," says
Greene. "We're featuring three proteins, so it
works: barbecue, chicken and tofu. I kinda
want people to just name it themselves, see •
what people start calling it. And I bet people
will just say 'The Roof.' But if 'The Classic
Triple' stuck, I'd be cool with that."
The restaurant will be run by Ken Manring,
the smoked-meat guru behind White Tiger
Gourmet and Greene's former bandmate in
local act Ashtray. The rooftop bar, all odd-cut
thick granite, was built by Matt Zbornik and
Five Eight vocalist/guitarist Mike Mantione.
The restaurant area will, much like The EARL
in Atlanta, feature live video feed of the show
going on below. You can call the restaurant
whatever you want, just don't call it closed
(hey now); it'll be open for lunch and dinner
seven days a week, right until the bars close.
The entire building has an nearly-almost-
there feel, right down to the offices, which
are, much to the management's chagrin, not
quite therg yet. Where have they actually been
conducting office work? "Everywhere," Greene
and Orvold say simultaneously. "I've had,
like, six offices since the fire," says Orvold.
"That’s been the hardest part of this whole
process for me personally—the displacement-
ness of it. Not being around your partners
and the people you're working with as made
operating a business pretty tricky. Mr. Horton
donated some space to us for a little bit above
Horton's Drug Store, but it was too cold in
the winter and too hot once it got warm out."
Greene seems alternately exhilarated and
exhausted, speaking to Flagpole at the tail
end of a 12-hour day in what has seemed like
a 25-month long streak of 23-hour days.
"It's crazy when you do a process like this,"
he says. "You stare at it on paper for so long,
and I didn't actually really start feeling good
about it until two or three weeks ago. [It]
didn't really start looking like a venue; it just
looked like a big construction mess until two
or three weeks ago."
The day it all came together was a mile
stone in triplicate: "The [balcony] handrails,
the production lighting and the floor hap
pened all in one day," says Orvold. With the
floor area cleared in order to be treated,
Orvold says, "it was, 'Ah, that's what we've
been doing for the last two years.' It really
kind of put it in perspective."
Jeff Tobias j
The Glands. Truckers and Big Boi shows are already
sold out. but you can buy tickets to all other Theatre
events at www.georgiatheatre.com.
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JULY 27.2011-FLAGP0LE.COM 15
