Roxy will be renovated, no more rock acts
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Buckhead’s Roxy Theatre will receive an $8 million makeover to replace its well-worn carpet and dilapidated, bare-floored auditorium with a posh lobby and new concert hall, complete with balconies and box seats. That’s the good news.
The bad news – at least for rock fans – is that, after its grand reopening, the Roswell Road venue isn’t likely to play host to acts like the Cure, Sonic Youth and Phish, as it has over the past two decades.
So says Charlie Loudermilk, the octogenarian Aaron Rents CEO who’s owned the building for many years.
“I’m not into the ring-in-the-nose culture,†he says. “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, but that’s not the type of shows we’ll have. It’ll be more upscale entertainment.â€
Loudermilk says he imagines artists like Tony Bennett, Jimmy Buffett and even personal fave Charlie Daniels taking the stage in the refurbished Roxy – a format change to reflect the swanky retail district that will replace the downtrodden Buckhead Village across the street.
The furniture-rental magnate had planned to rechristen the building the Buckhead Theater, its original name when it debuted as a second-run movie house in 1930. But he was persuaded to keep the current marquis by executives from condo-builders Novare, who plan to use the Roxy name for a residential tower next door.
