'It has all the bells and whistles': When Bourbon Brothers, Boot Barn Hall expects to open in downtown Gainesville

Apr. 18—The countdown to toe-tapping and tavern fare jiving under the same roof is on in downtown Gainesville.

Construction on Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern and Boot Barn Hall is on pace to wrap up within the next 30 days, according to Chloe Hoeft, director of marketing and communications for Notes Live Development Co., the parent company of the restaurant and music hall.

A series of soft openings are slated for June, with plans to hold a grand opening in July featuring "some big artists," Hoeft said. Additional information is forthcoming.

Situated on a 1.7-acre lot at 312 Jesse Jewell Parkway, the venue boasts 77 designated parking spaces and two entrances, the main entrance, which leads into the restaurant, facing Broad Street, with another facing Academy Street.

While they await the venue's opening, prospective patrons can enroll in a VIP program to receive free newsletters and alerts on concert ticket sales, discounts and events by visiting bootbarnhallga.com/vip.

With breakfast, lunch and dinner service along with a Sunday brunch buffet, 90% of the tavern's menus will mirror those of the Colorado Springs location, St. Germain said, with the remaining portion featuring dishes with a "Gainesville flair."

For drinks and spirits, the tavern's website suggests guests can expect to find bourbon, rye, whiskey and more.

The fragrant aroma of barbecued meats will waft from the "smoker room" off the kitchen — which will service both the restaurant and the music hall — that's dedicated to a large smoker procured from Kansas City, according to Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern general manager Steven St. Germain.

Upstairs, the bourbon bar, one of the most popular features of Bourbon Brothers' Colorado Springs Campus, according to Hoeft, will boast rustic wood and leather details and open to a balcony with a stairwell leading to the ground level patio.

The patio will feature its own set of bathrooms, according to St. Germain, so guests won't have to search for them inside. The outdoor space will also be equipped with fireplaces and ample room for a bandstand to host "unplugged" acoustic sessions.

"It'll be a really good place to gather and hang out," Hoeft said, adding that the Colorado Springs location hosts a series of sunset patio sessions featuring live artists in the summer months, which may be implemented in Gainesville as well.

As for Boot Barn Hall, the 18,000-square-foot space is designed to hold 1,400 general admission guests, or 500 seated guests around 5-by-5-foot tables on the floor and VIP mezzanine wrapping around the hall that will allow guests to "gather in a more secluded space but also have that home service touch," Hoeft said. "You're having that private, intimate setting, but you're still watching a grand band."

Some seating arrangements will be ADA accessible, she added.

Doubling as an event space for corporate and private events, the music hall is designed to resemble an amphitheater, according to St. Germain, and boasts wood-paneled walls with black vaulted ceilings as well as a 27-foot LED screen at the back of the stage.

The stage is built to host "giant bands, two bands at a time, three bands at a time, whatever it may be," Hoeft noted, "but also private events (like) an awards dinner."

The main attraction, however, aside from the headliners that may grace the hall, may be the oak dance floor under construction at the base of the stage.

The venue, according to Hoeft, "has all the bells and whistles" and is expected to be "a premiere experience."

Within the next two weeks, a large, "old school" marquee announcing upcoming shows and events is set to be installed on the side of the building facing Jesse Jewell Parkway.

"Event wise, we're hosting everything you can think of — fundraisers, galas, graduations, weddings, proms — but also rock concerts, regional concerts, awesome tribute bands but also those kick-butt ones from Nashville," Hoeft said. "We lean toward country and rock just because of the nature of the building itself, but we won't pigeonhole ourselves into one genre."

The Gainesville campus is one of 10 the company hopes to open over the next five years, according to Hoeft. In the queue now are prospective locations in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Fort Worth, Texas.

According to St. Germain, the venue has created about 150 local jobs, several of which are open to applicants on Indeed.

Hoeft said the company is excited about "just being a place people can gather in this area. The arts and entertainment culture here is vibrant and awesome, and we're excited to be another staple of that and get the people dancing."

"We're really, really proud to bring this to Gainesville," she added. "I hope that Gainesville is excited, too."

For additional information and updates, visit bourbonbrothersga.com or follow Bourbon Brothers — Gainesville on Facebook and Instagram.