The new venue at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda is ready for show time. The stage is set with a black baby grand piano, the floors are polished and the tables are lined up.
AMP, the 240-seat concert venue at Federal Realty’s Pike & Rose development, will open Friday with a show featuring alternative country music star Jay Farrar.
Officials from Strathmore and Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the two partners who have joined forces to handle the marketing, refreshments and music for AMP, provided a sneak peak of the new space during a tour Wednesday afternoon
Mike Fila, a spokesman for Strathmore, said the new venue will provide the music center with a mid-size option that can be conducive for “hip, cool and trendy” acts not suited to the center’s smaller 100-seat mansion venue or nearly 2,000-seat concert hall. Strathmore’s grounds are located about a mile and a half south of the new venue on Rockville Pike.
The high windows inside AMP will one day look onto an urban landscape of residential and commercial buildings, but currently offer patrons views of the construction site that is the second phase of the Pike & Rose project.
Displayed on one table were menu items including beef short ribs topped with whipped potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts; a hamburger; and a chicken pot pie complete with the outline of a chicken in the crust. Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which is known for its Washington, D.C., restaurants including Birch & Barley and Churchkey, will be handling the food operations for AMP.
Megan Bailey, director of public relations for the restaurant group, said the food will be delivered in a style similar to a wedding, meaning numerous dishes delivered at the same time. Bailey said the dishes are modeled off creations from the group’s restaurants.
“The idea is to give people small plates they can share,” Bailey said.
Drinks offerings will include a dozen different types of beers, wine, and cocktails.
There is no requirement to order a certain amount of food or drink at the venue, unlike that at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, which may compete with the new venue for audiences and acts.
Whether seating is available will vary on the type of show, according to Fila. He said some concerts may offer standing room only, while most of the time patrons will be seated at tables arranged in long rows.
“Everything is fluid right now,” Fila said. “We really need to see how people respond to and use the space.”
AMP has scheduled 44 concerts through August with a variety of acts ranging from jazz to indie rock bands to folk musicians. The venue is also available for private events and parties, an option that Fila said has proven popular already; available weekend dates are already booked for the year.
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