A local man has become so sick of people complaining about there being nothing to do in Chatham-Kent and a lack of live music that he's decided to do something about it.
Wayne Caron is renting the vacant space formerly known as The Golden Tap on Grand Ave. E, by the Service Ontario. He's a really big fan of live music and plans on having a lot of it at his new establishment, which will now be known as the Fortresss Tavern.
Caron said the biggest problem he found in CK was not only the lack of live music, but the consistency of it.
"It's not a bash on any of the other places here, there's just no regularity," Caron said. "There's a band one weekend not the next. The music is what it will be all about. I've actually wanted to do this for a long time at this location."
Apparently, Caron liked the Golden Tap so much, he isn't changing a whole lot. He said there are some little cosmetic things he's done along with extending the stage 10 ft. He really wants to get people onto the dance floor though.
"As long as [the bands] are awesome there's no real focus on a specific genre of music," Caron said. "The term might be outdated, but it will likely have a rock and country vibe. Anything to get the people dancing."
Another big focus for Caron was creating a safe atmosphere at his "saloon."
"There will be no crap going on," Caron said. "They'll be escorted out by the Chatham police if there are any problems whatsoever. It's for people that want to have fun and have a few refreshments."
Caron said he initially wanted the tavern to open August 1, but is at the mercy of inspectors. He is aiming for an August opening though and is confident the establishment will be up to code and will pass with flying colours.
The bar owner promised the Fortresss Tavern will have the cleanest washrooms in CK and as for the menu, Caron said it won't be too extensive. He plans on making it a deli-style menu without much fried food.
"Just something light to keep people going on the dance floor," Caron said.
Caron also confirmed Wednesdays will be karaoke night.