Once he\u2019s removed the gravestones and the bicycles, Mat\u00edas Mu\u00f1oz plans to turn a 100-year-old building at 473 Bronson Ave. into what he calls \u201cCentretown\u2019s living room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1oz has watched Ottawa\u2019s music scene evolve in the years since the pandemic. As a music promoter, he was familiar with many of the venues that would eventually close their doors after COVID, such as Barrymore\u2019s Music Hall and Babylon on Bank Street. And he knew the feeling all too well himself, after his own DIY music venue, Cinqhole, closed after a few months of operation in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, Mu\u00f1oz told OBJ this week that he\u2019s held on to a passion for live music and urban spaces in Ottawa. So, when he was touring 473 Bronson Ave. last year, something clicked. He had gone in looking for a space to expand his rehearsal business, Green Room Rehearsal Studios, but came away with another ambition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I walked in, I was amazed. It\u2019s this 100-year-old building with a beautiful fa\u00e7ade and a lightbulb went off in my head. I wasn\u2019t sure if I\u2019d ever get back into creating space for music, but I hung onto that idea and I said to myself, \u2018I have to do something here.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once a lease agreement was in place last summer, Mu\u00f1oz started working on transforming the former Re-Cycles space into Fono, a \u201cmulti-purpose event space and high-fidelity lounge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learning from his experience with Cinqhole, Mu\u00f1oz said he wanted to be more intentional about curating the space at Fono.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hired designers, architects and contractors from the beginning to make sure that everything was planned correctly. Now, because we have a solid plan and (are) working with the right people, it makes a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opening on April 10, Fono will be a \u201chub for the community,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said. By day, it will serve coffee and sandwiches and, by night, beer, wine, cocktails and small bites \u2013 all woven together with music from a state-of-the-art sound system, inspired by the intimate Japanese kissa bar tradition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKissa bar culture centres around intentional listening. The acoustics in the room have been fine-tuned. Everything centres around music in different ways here,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The audio system is set up for \u201can unparalleled listening experience,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked with a Montreal company called Automatic Audio to build this beautiful system with six loudspeakers that are placed strategically so that anywhere you sit or stand, it sounds amazing \u2026 Even if the music is really loud, you can still have a normal conversation with the person sitting next to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The space is divided into two sections: the hi-fi lounge and the ballroom. The ballroom is a flexible space at the back of the building that can host \u201canything from corporate meetings to private birthday parties, while we\u2019re still having the public hanging out in the front lounge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ballroom\u2019s flexibility is what will keep Fono a sustainable business in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old model of music venues is that you come in, watch a show, buy a bunch of booze and that\u2019s it. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but to have a sustainable business, you have to be able to bring in money in other ways. We have coffee during the day. We have the potential for providing space for corporate meetings. We\u2019re not just dependent on alcohol sales,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a different business model, but I think it\u2019s one that is appropriate for the time and modern economy we\u2019re in. We\u2019re keeping things flexible, keeping people interested. I think that everything we do here will feel different from the last time because there is no set-in-stone model that we\u2019re operating under.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with chef Pat Muir, who previously worked at Arlo Wine and Restaurant on Somerset Street West, Mu\u00f1oz is curating a minimalist food and beverage program that will complement the venue without taking the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m by no means a restaurateur. To me, music is at the core of everything. Everything around it just supports (the music),\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said.<\/p>\n
Still, he said there will be a focus on making the food and beverage program Ottawa-first by working with local producers such as Lulo Coffee and giving a nod to bygone venues with the names of Fono\u2019s cocktails.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the design of the space, Mu\u00f1oz worked with his wife, creative director Meaghan Murphy, and local design firm Wei Sanchez to give the space a minimalist look and inviting feel.<\/p>\n
Touting the space as \u201cCentretown\u2019s living room,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said he wants people to see Fono as a third space where they can feel at ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you come here, you just feel like you\u2019re hanging out with friends. We want it to feel like you\u2019re putting a record on in your friend\u2019s living room,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve strategically chosen the decor with a lot of vintage furniture to make the space feel like (people) can be at ease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1oz added that he wants Fono to be a place where artistic expression thrives \u2013 something that, if achieved, could mean long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want this place to be a hub for (the artistic) communities. My philosophy is that the success of the business, financially, will come, but you have to put your \u2018reason why\u2019 first. The reason why I\u2019m doing this is for the music, for the community. Some businesses get that mixed up \u2026 I think putting a lot of care into the details of the audio, the visuals and the feel of this room will (lead to) a better experience when people walk in.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, he wants Fono to be braided into the fabric of the Centretown community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to do community events. We want this to be a place where other businesses come and do pop-ups,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said, adding that he was inspired by the \u201charvest party\u201d hosted by Miam Miam General Store on Somerset Street West last fall.<\/p>\n
With a few hurdles still to jump \u2013 like taking old gravestones out of the building\u2019s basement, a nod to when the space was occupied by George Brown and Sons \u2013 Mu\u00f1oz said he\u2019s looking forward to opening weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFono is going to be something really different for Ottawa. (It\u2019ll be) a really fun place to work and a fun place to come and hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once he\u2019s removed the gravestones and the bicycles, Mat\u00edas Mu\u00f1oz plans to turn a 100-year-old building at 473…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-564751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}