{"id":379236,"date":"2026-10-22T03:46:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T03:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379236\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T03:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T03:46:29","slug":"in-1999-two-employees-took-over-a-small-jazz-joint-on-duke-ellington-boulevard-27-years-later-the-legendary-smoke-features-a-stunning-candlelit-dining-room-and-a-grammy-nominated-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379236\/","title":{"rendered":"In 1999, two employees took over a small jazz joint on Duke Ellington Boulevard; 27 years later, the legendary SMOKE features a stunning candlelit dining room and a GRAMMY-nominated label"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Eddie-Henderson-Melissa-Aldana-Julius-Rodriguez-Gerald-Cannon-and-Joe-Farnsworth_3-1024x683.jpg\"   width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"In 1999, two employees took over a small jazz joint on Duke Ellington Boulevard; 27 years later, the legendary SMOKE features a stunning candlelit dining room and a GRAMMY-nominated label\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/secretnyc.co\/best-jazz-clubs-in-nyc\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretnyc.co\/best-jazz-clubs-in-nyc\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_0\" data-category=\"click_internal\">Jazz clubs<\/a> are notorious for serving awful food. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smokejazz.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/smokejazz.com\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_1\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">SMOKE <\/a>leads the vanguard in changing that expectation. It originally operated as Augie\u2019s jazz club back in the day. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, two employees took it over. Husband and wife Paul Stache and Molly Sparrow Johnson officially opened Smoke Jazz Club on April 9, 1999.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The venue sits at 2751 Broadway, right between 105th and 106th Streets. There is a massive amount of jazz history in this specific area. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The city renamed 106th Street to Duke Ellington Boulevard back in the 1970s. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ellington actually lived on this very street. Fittingly, SMOKE rests just off this historic musical junction.<\/p>\n<p>Surviving the pandemic<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/OutdoorCafe_landscape-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-410426\"  \/>Source \/ SMOKE Jazz Club<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pandemic hit the city hard. Indoor dining and performances stopped for over two years. However, the owners refused to quit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The duo displayed a knack for improvisation to steer the club through the COVID-19 era. Management hosted socially distanced sidewalk concerts. Staff set up outdoor dining. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team even launched a streaming concert series called Smoke Screens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, the business needed room to grow. Taking over two adjacent storefronts, a major renovation safely combined the new spaces with the original footprint. The expansion created an attached lounge and relocated the historic full-length bar. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, performers enjoy a much larger stage in the main listening room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The club officially <a href=\"https:\/\/secretnyc.co\/smoke-jazz-club-nyc\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretnyc.co\/smoke-jazz-club-nyc\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_2\" data-category=\"click_internal\">celebrated its grand reopening in July 2022<\/a>. Legendary saxophonist George Coleman christened the fresh stage.<\/p>\n<p>Superb food, live music, and Grammy nods<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07549-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-410427\"  \/>Source \/ SMOKE Jazz Club<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, SMOKE stands as an internationally recognized haven for live music. The atmosphere remains incredibly warm and vibrant. Guests enjoy top-notch programming every single week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can order from a superb full dinner menu featuring classic American cuisine inside a stunning candlelit dining room. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond the food and live shows, the institution also produces new music titles. The brand runs a GRAMMY-nominated record label called Smoke Sessions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The music truly never stops at SMOKE.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t miss out! Follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Secretnyc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Secretnyc\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_3\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secret_nyc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secret_nyc\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_4\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">Instagram<\/a>, and now on <a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb9NyGCDp2QIWGqGJm2I\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb9NyGCDp2QIWGqGJm2I\" data-action=\"text_cta_5\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">WhatsApp<\/a>, too!<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jazz clubs are notorious for serving awful food. SMOKE leads the vanguard in changing that expectation. It originally&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-379236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}