Lincoln Square piano bar to offer food, drinks, entertainment

URBANA – It's still two months away from opening, but already the 88 Broadway piano bar at Lincoln Square Village is beginning to take shape.

The piano bar, located inside what used to be the west entrance to Bergner's department store, is in a pivotal position in the mall – facing the mall's "high court" and across from longtime tenants International Galleries and Dena's Hallmark.

The venue, which will feature "dueling" pianists, will serve full meals, including lunch and dinner, and operate well into the night, staying open until 1 a.m., said Doug Larson, the owner of 88 Broadway,

It's envisioned not as a traditional piano lounge, but as a high-spirited entertainment venue where pianists play, sing and make people laugh – and where the audience joins in on songs like "Sweet Caroline." Listeners can expect to hear Billy Joel's "Piano Man" regularly, plus songs from all sorts of musical genres.

The concept, which mall owner Jim Webster suggested, has worked in other cities, Larson said. It's used at Howl at the Moon in Indianapolis, The Waterhouse in Peoria, Sluggers Sports Bar in Chicago and Rum Runners in South Bend, Ind., among others.

Two pianos will be near the entrance to the piano bar, separated from the high court by sliding glass doors.

Inside, the audience will be seated at tables and booths on risers. The 7,300-square-foot space is decorated in earth tones, with a large semicircular bar on the east, a smaller bar on the north and the kitchen to the south.

Plus, on some occasions, there may be opportunities to "spill out" into the mall's high court and have seating in the round, Larson said.

Pizza, sandwiches, salads and fondue will be served, as well as four-course dinners including appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. Fondue will be available until 9 p.m., with other foods served late into the night, according to Sam Mall, who will be the kitchen manager.

Larson said the 88 Broadway name stems from the piano bar's location. Broadway Avenue once ran where the mall's high court is, and the piano keyboard has 88 keys. "And 'Broadway' has an entertainment ring to it," Larson said.

He figures 88 Broadway will need at least three or four pianists rotating duties. Among the requirements for performers: "You need to be able to play and sing. You need to know a lot of songs people will request."

The place is expected to be low-key during the day, with performers "amping it up" after 9 or 10 p.m.

"Food becomes less important as the night goes on," Mall said.

Across the hall, Bill Mermelstein, owner of International Galleries, said he's looking forward to 88 Broadway's opening.

"Of course, we're excited. I hope they're open enough hours during the day," the art and frame store owner said. "I think it'll be great. I hope they do well."

It's not the first time the 28-year-old Larson has operated a food-and-beverage establishment. He took over operation of Joe's Brewery on the University of Illinois campus three years ago, and his family's real estate company has leased property to several area bars and restaurants, including Jillian's and the White Horse Inn.

Larson, who received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois in 2001, took a job as a forensic accountant with a small accounting firm in the Chicago area after graduation. He became a certified public accountant in 2003.

As a forensic accountant, he went into situations where a company had suffered damage – say, from a fire or an explosion – and tried to calculate what the company would have made and what it wouldn't have spent – mainly for the purposes of insurance claims.

After Larson's father, a Champaign apartment and commercial real estate owner, died in 2005, Larson moved back to Champaign to help handle the business. The family had already sold off most of its apartment holdings, but still had several commercial properties as well as Joe's Brewery.

Larson said he "always wanted to be in real estate." But he confessed being involved in Joe's Brewery "has been more fun than real estate."

Two colleagues from Joe's Brewery will play key roles at 88 Broadway: Luke Henry, a four-year employee, will be general manager, and Mall, who's been at Joe's for a year and a half, will be kitchen manager.

From overseeing Joe's Brewery, Larson said he's learned a few lessons.

"The biggest one is you have to let people decide for themselves what's fun and not decide for them," he said, noting he once thought a wine night with Dean Martin music would prove popular. But it didn't.

The other lesson: "Things that worked 10 years ago may not work today." Larson said he tried a Sunday all-you-could-eat spaghetti promotion. It was a hit a decade earlier, a flop the most recent time out.

Larson realizes the downtown Urbana mall doesn't have the traffic it did in its heyday, although places such as Cardinal Fitness bring young people in.

"I definitely didn't come in looking at this like it's a prime location," Larson said, but he did recognize Lincoln Square Village has a lot of factors going for it.

"It's got a ton of parking. The rent is extremely attractive," he said. "Lincoln Square has a recognizable name. There's not an issue of people finding it. There's a fairly dense population surrounding the area. It's accessible. It's visible."

It could be 88 Broadway is just what the center needs.

"I hope this will add life to the mall and let Lincoln Square become a shopping and entertainment destination again," he said.

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