By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – A Buffalo night club is looking at the past for its future. The Sphere Entertainment Complex on Main Street downtown will be reopening next month as the Town Ballroom.
681 Main Street was once one of the hottest spots for night life in the City during the 40's, 50's & 60's.
It was the site of the Town Casino, playing host to big names in the entertainment world like Sammy Davis Jr., Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.
Just a few years ago, the building was transformed into a new night club and restaurant known as the Sphere. But with new management in place, the entertainment complex is changing direction.
Donny Kutzbach is a talent buyer for the Town Ballroom. He said it will soon feature a variety of live entertainment and special events. But the new managers are hoping the old "Town" name sparks a bit of nostalgia.
"I think there is something to that. More than anything, the way I see it is a room with such a rich tradition and it just makes sense to go back to that," said Kutzbach. "The room hosted Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, some of biggest names in entertainment. We are trying to bring that back 50-years later. We hope to bring some of that magic back."
But at the same time, Kutzbach said the new Town Ballroom should provide entertainment that will appeal to everyone.
"We are going to be doing stuff that is definitely going to be geared toward a younger audience," said Kutzbach. "The kind of people who want to go out to dance clubs and hear top 40 bands and young rock bands. But we will also be featuring traditional acts, and everything in between."
Late last year, outside the night club, some shootings occurred that police linked to the type of entertainment and events featured at the Sphere.
That included a New Year's eve shooting. At the time, the owners claimed they were random acts of violence and the bar was not to blame. But now with new management in tow Kutzbach believes that is behind them.
"The way I see it now is we've already entered a whole new period with this room. What happened before we see as something that was unfortunate, but at this point we are just looking ahead, said Kutzbach."
And looking ahead to celebrating the rich, past history that once made the Main Street location a hot spot for top entertainment. The night club opens in mid-September.