Casa's Manifest Destiny
By Matthew Toledo - 11/5/2003
Casa Nueva is planning to expand the Cantina portion of their restaurant westward during the winter break. Some time ago, the worker-owned restaurant and bar purchased Low-Key Tie-Dye and Gifts with an eye on expansion. Construction was held up for a while due to questions about a right-of-way to the emergency exit which went through private property. Most of the legal and technical issues have been worked out, and the teardown/construction of the old Low-Key store has begun.
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Plans for the new room have had to work around a large stairwell leading up to the apartments above Casa. The stairs account for the current bulge in Casa's western wall and the minute size of Casa's stage. Their solution to the problem will be to wrap the bar around both sides of the stairwell in a elongated U shape. This configuration will give the bar a serving area greater than most bars in Athens.
Casa is well known for having a large elaborate and beautiful hand-crafted shelves behind the bar. The curved surfaces on the 3-D tree shaped shelves help to break up sound in the bar to prevent echoing. Unfortunately, the folks at Casa can't find a place in the new layout for the old shelves. Unless a use is found, Casa may consider selling the piece to anyone who can provide the shelves a good home.
A support column between the current Cantina and the expansion will be removed and replaced with a steel beam to take up the load. This means Casa will be free of any view-blocking posts in the middle of the venue or stage. The new steel beam will be covered with a hand carved iguana or other creature that will span the length of the venue from stage to the new bar and may even seamlessly blend into the new bar shelves. The goal is to rival the old shelves by creating something even more spectacular.
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The most important change to Casa as far as musicians are concerned will be the relocation and expansion of the current stage. The new stage will be located on the site of the current bar and will be twice as wide as the current Casa stage. A new sound system will be installed and a location for a permanent, raised sound booth is also tentatively in the plans.
The new, larger Cantina, once completed, will become the second largest music venue in Athens behind the Blue Gator. Worker-owners at the bar were excited at the prospect of possibly booking larger named acts at Casa and possibly offering guarantees now that they will have the square footage to make guarantees feasible. Even though Casa will now have the ability to book large name acts, they still plan to continue their lengthy tradition of supporting EVERY genre of music in Athens.
