New music and entertainment venue opening Saturday in downtown New Bern

Editor's Note: Story has been updated to reflect the correct chef's name employed at Baxter's.

One of downtown New Bern’s premier historic buildings will reopen in grand style Saturday with the launch of a new high-end music and entertainment venue.

Baxter’s 1892 will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 323 Pollock St. with a performance by Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., the season 6 winner of America’s Got Talent. The singer is renowned for his interpretations of jazz classics by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others.

“In January 2020, I first told Landau about my new upcoming adventure and how I’d love to have him there,” said co-owner Von Lewis in a recent press release. “We had just finished a performance at the Hilton in Times Square in NYC and stopped to decompress at a venue similar to what I was intending. Having Landau was always a part ofthe plan and I’m glad it worked with his busy schedule.”

Doors will open at 5 p.m. Saturday., with the show beginning at 8 p.m. Seating is first come, first served and they will not be taking reservations.

According to the release, the bar will be open for the event, but limited food will be available. Full kitchen operation will begin in mid-February.

Lewis said in the release the festivities will continue through the weekend, with jazz by Blak Shēp from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, which will continue the following five Sundays. Doors will open at 5 p.m., and there will be a $15 cover charge.

If the name Baxter’s 1892 sounds familiar, it’s because co-owners Tyler Griffin and Lewis have chosen to honor the building’s unique place in the annals of downtown New Bern.

The building is thought to have been erected around 1915. According to a previous Sun Journal article, the Baxter family, which had been in the jewelry business locally since 1892, bought the building in 1917 and relocated their store there three years later.

The book “The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina,” by Peter B. Sandbeck describes the Baxter’s building as “... distinguished by its exceptional patterned brickwork, executed in red and buff-colored press brick. Its detailing reflects the then-popular influence of the eclectic Colonial Revival style, with its Flemish-bond brickwork and unusual Dutch Colonial-style curvilinear parapet.”

That early-20th century elegance was still evident when Griffin and Lewis began searching for a venue to fulfill their dream of bringing a different kind of entertainment to downtown New Bern.

The friends, who first met while studying at East Carolina University, purchased the Baxter’s building in 2019 and have since undertaken a million-dollar renovation of the space.

“We were looking in the area for a while,” Lewis said in previous Sun Journal coverage. “We were walking around and saw that the Baxter building was available. It was too good to be true. This location is the perfect spot for our dream.”

During an appearance last week on the City Talk podcast, Griffin said the musical entertainment at Baxter’s 1892 will feature “a lot of jazz, blues and singer-songwriters.”

Musical acts will perform on a new stage constructed above the front doorway. Griffin stressed that the venue was built with music in mind. Emmy award winner Chuck Davis, who has previously worked with the Grand Ole Opry and Walt Disney World, was brought in to handle the sound design for the building.

An upstairs mezzanine section has also been created to offer a bird’s eye view of the stage.

“It’s something that you can’t find in downtown right now. We’re filling that gap of being able to go in, have a conversation and still listen to music,” Lewis said.

Griffin, a Wyse Fork native, traveled the world as an entertainment and hospitality consultant with clients such as Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Carowinds Amusement, before deciding to settle in New Bern.

Lewis, who grew up in Vanceboro, is part of the New Bern-based singing duo Lewis n Clark with his wife Abbey. He has also acted in TV and movies and is perhaps most well-known for his role as Bobby Rydell in the Oscar award-winning film Green Book.

In addition to the focus on music, the co-owners have also created a top shelf bar program that will feature 17 house drinks. The program was created by Alex Norris, a high school friend of Lewis’s who works as bar manager at Death and Taxes in Raleigh.

Griffin said the drink menu has been designed to match specific offerings with the customer’s mood.

“Our menu is being engineered to how you want to feel,” Griffin said. “It’s designed to cater to whatever your mood is or whatever you want it to be that evening.”

Baxter’s 1892 will also offer food unique to downtown New Bern. According to Griffin, options will include small plates of Spanish and French-inspired dishes, as well as some American offerings like sliders of various sorts, a small, short rib dish, heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts, including bacon bourbon vanilla ice cream.

The full tapas menu designed by Chef Chris Maravelas will roll out mid-February.

According to Griffin and Lewis, much of the Baxter’s building’s original character has been maintained. The store’s cabinets have been refurbished and old negatives found inside have been framed on metal plates and displayed in the gallery.

According to Griffin and Lewis, the building has a capacity of just over 200 but is seating for approximately 100 right now.

“We have numerous opportunities to ‘wow’ our audience,” Lewis told the Sun Journal last summer. “We are making a concerted effort to bring a different and exciting experience to New Bern.”

Reporter Todd Wetherington can be reached by email at wwetherington@newbernsj.com. 

This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: New music venue and bar opening Saturday in downtown New Bern