PHOENIX — The owners of Thunderbird Lounge are getting ready to open an ‘immersive’ sister concept in Downtown Phoenix called Thundercat Lounge.
Here’s what Jeremiah J. Gratza, co-owner, shared with ABC15 regarding the late 80s early 90s club.
LATE 80s EARLY 90s
“I am a child of the 80s and I love everything - the design, the aesthetic and I kind of love how it’s coming back in pop culture, TV shows like Stranger Things and Cobra Kai. Everything old is new again,” said Gratza. “It’s going to be a super, highly immersive space. As soon as you walk in, a Star Wars light tunnel that takes you into this main room that you know looks like a food court of a 90s mall.”
The business won’t count on a kitchen, but having food trucks on-site is the plan. It will, however, have a full bar.
“The cocktails will most likely be named after 80s and 90s references, but they’ll be new modern cocktails,” said Gratza, who shared with ABC15 that their drinks will lean into more of the ‘fun party cocktails” using vodka, rum, tequila, and other spirits.
DANCE CLUB
The late 80s early 90s vibes will be throughout the establishment, but the dance floor will be its focal point.
“It’s 100% a club. In my idea it’s really downtown Phoenix’s first proper dance club,” said Gratza. He acknowledged that there are some places nearby with DJs but reiterated Thundercat Lounge “is going to be built from the ground up to be a club.”
![More about Thundercat Lounge: “We’ve got a 4 PK sound system [and] we’ve got a floor to ceiling video wall,” shared Gratza to ABC15. “We’re working with some of the designs teams that have worked [for] things like Meow Wolf before.”](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5089c6c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1376x768+0+0/resize/1280x714!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2Fcc%2F813ba3ee4cd39076583cc40732c3%2Fscreen-shot-2022-06-02-at-12-57-43-pm-3.jpg)
According to the co-owner, the club will have the following: a proper dance floor, a full video wall, a proper club system, VIP booths, and bottle service.
So, what about the playlist?
“The music will range... like there will be some 80s, 90s but primarily we’ll be doing more current, new modern... you know EDM, techno, house, that kind of stuff,” explained Gratza.
KARAOKE ROOM
According to Gratza, Thundercat Lounge will have a basement in which a 500 square feet Karaoke room will be available for guests upon reservation.
“[It’s] going to be a private Japanese-style karaoke room that you can rent out for birthday parties, bachelorette parties, going away parties,” shared Gratza. “ [It’s] going to be done in the style of Blade Runner- that kind of post-apocalyptic, neo-Tokyo… late 80s vibe, the synth-wave, vapor-wave type of stuff.”
HISTORIC BUILDING IN PHX
“The building is a 1920s historic Art Deco building that we’re preserving and the same with Thunderbird Lounge, it’s a historic 1930s building,” said Gratza. “We like to go into historic buildings and do preservation and bring new life- not just demolish these beautiful buildings. We like to bring something new and cool to these buildings.”
According to Gratza, the building being used for Thundercat Lounge was an armory for the City of Phoenix in the 1920s and there’s only a handful of Art Deco buildings in the Downtown area.
“If you drive by, you’ll see this beautiful historic Art Deco architecture on the outside that we’re not touching at all,” adds Gratza.
IF YOU GO
- Gratza confirms to ABC15 that the slated opening date is October 2023.
- Located near the corner of 7th Avenue and Van Buren [747 W. Van Buren St.] in Phoenix.
- The location will count with a 3,000 square feet outdoor patio; It’ll have a 200-person capacity.
- The plan is to open seven days a week, the indoor capacity is 200.
