Iconic Blues Restaurant Reopens

The House of Blues, a former Harvard Square institution, broke in its new digs in Boston last night to the tune of a reunited J. Geils Band.

Dan Aykroyd and Isaac Tigrett—who also founded the Hard Rock Café chain together—opened up the first House of Blues in Harvard Square on 96 Winthrop St. in 1992. It closed in 2003 after outgrowing its original space, which held only 180 people.

After the House of Blues closed, Brother Jimmy’s, a southern-themed bar and restaurant, moved in for about two years. Tommy Doyle’s, an Irish-themed pub and restaurant, currently occupies the space.

The House of Blues has since expanded into a national chain with about a dozen other locations. The concert promoter Live Nation bought the company in 2006.

The music club chain’s new space at 15 Lansdowne St. was once occupied by popular nightclubs, including Avalon and Axis.

Boston nightlife mogul Patrick T. Lyons originally planned to replace the nightclubs with a complex called Music Hall before making a deal with the House of Blues.

In addition to a performance space, the Boston House of Blues will boast a restaurant, gift shop, and VIP lounge.

Howie Y. Turkenkopf, the brand marketing manager for the location, said that choosing the new space—which seats nearly 2,500 people and sports eight bars in total—was a careful process.

“You’re just not going to find any old property,” he said. “You need a good...space to put this venue together...so, you take your time, you find the right place.”

The location was chosen for its size, its proximity to Fenway Park, and its colorful history, which includes performances by The Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin, Turkenkopf said. He said that the inaugural show sold out in about 40 minutes.

“It’s a perfect fit in terms of inaugurating a new venue,” he said of the J. Geils Band, a “legendary blues-based rock act” that performed in the same space in spring 1968, when the location was called the Boston Tea Party.

Though the new House of Blues complex marks a significant departure from its cozy origins, it hasn’t lost its sense of history. About 30-40 pieces of artwork that were in the original 96 Winthrop St. location are displayed at the new locale, including 12 busts of “Blues gods,” Turkenkopf said.

Some of the original staff from the Harvard Square location have also stayed with the company, including two bartenders, a security officer, and the director of sales.

As the staff geared up for a busy first night, guests were already having drinks at the attached restaurant’s bar.

“It’s down to the last minute,” said Turkenkopf, who received three phone calls over the course of the interview.

—Staff writer Lingbo Li can be reached at lingboli@fas.harvard.edu.