Fri 9/4, Sat 9/5 & Sun 9/6 @ 4-10PM
As the pandemic drags on and on, Cleveland’s treasured small music venues are looking at ways to survive. The Beachland Ballroom is tentatively moving toward reopening with a very different model. In fact, it opened for a small, invited audience last Friday August 28 “just to try to figure out if we could manage the social distancing and eating and to test drive it,” says co-owner Cindy Barber.
They’ll reopen to the public on a limited basis this weekend for food and drink, with a large tent and outdoor tables in the parking lot, as well as spaced-out seating in the newly refurbished ballroom. There may be DJs but no live music yet.
“We’re going to be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 4-10, with seating outside and inside, says Barber. “We got a temporary expansion permit from the state and the city so we can feed people and have beverages out in the parking lot. I’m still trying to figure out if I can get to play music outside. They want me to do change-of-use permit — we have residential people right up against the Beachland so they have to sign off on it. We would be done with music by 9, done serving by 10.
The major kitchen redo they’ve been working on is still a few weeks away form completion but they have the grill fired up. “We don’t have completely prepared foods, but we’re coming up with a picnic menu for the weekend.”