NORFOLK — A trio of Hampton Roads business owners want to deliver an adrenaline shot to the area’s music scene with a new Norfolk venue.
Called The Annex, the 460-person venue is opening later this month at 2500 Church St. Unit A, two blocks away from Maker’s Craft Brewery.
Co-owner Josh Coplon, the founder and owner of LAVA Presents, a music and event production company, will be handling the music side of the business. He said the venue is the culmination of a yearslong dream. Throughout his time with LAVA, he said he’s worked with great venues but never had a Norfolk location for midsize shows.
“Now, it’s exciting to have a home base,” Coplon said, who has operated LAVA since 2015.
Coplon is partnering on the venture with Tom Wilder, co-owner of Young Veterans Brewing Co. in Virginia Beach, and Chris Holyfield, who co-owns The Bunker Brewpub at the Oceanfront.
Wilder will be bringing over beers from Young Veterans, and Holyfield will handle the restaurant, featuring a from-scratch kitchen and the hot chicken sandwich from Bunker, Coplon said. The space, a little under 6,500 square feet, will feature both the venue and a separate restaurant with regular dining hours even on non-show nights, he said.
Shows will include the rock and indie music LAVA Presents frequently showcases, as well as genres that Coplon doesn’t book as much like rap and metal. Most upcoming Fridays and Saturdays are already booked, and Coplon plans to holds events as many nights a week as makes sense for the venue.
In a news release, Wilder said Young Veterans was committed to supporting the music scene.
“We are dedicated to nurturing our community’s appreciation for all things local,” Wilder said. “The Annex represents another venue where we uphold this commitment.”
Coplon said the venue will fill a need for a centrally-located venue between a small space like Chicho’s Backstage downtown and bigger clubs like The Norva. With a large open space, most shows will be general admission standing room-only affairs, he said. The building was previously home to the now-closed Five Points Community Farm Market.
“What’s exciting is that it’s going to open up a whole new world, hopefully, of bands that have never come through here,” Coplon said.
At the same time, he hoped the space would inspire local talent to pick up an instrument and build the local music ecosystem.
Coplon still plans to book shows at other venues through LAVA Presents like those currently held at Toast in Norfolk, he said.
The Annex is scheduled to open Aug. 29 with a show by the five-piece band Papadosio. Other shows happening soon include The Fall of Troy, Robert DeLong and Frankie Cosmos.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
