Islington's The Garage is to relaunch in February with new owners

With a long and rich history within London’s live music and nightlife scene, The Garage in Islington has always been regarded as one of the city’s landmark venues. Now, relaunching in February 2017, under new ownership and following an extensive refurbishment, The Garage will be transformed into a destination venue and its iconic reputation reignited.

As well as housing the legendary music venue, the building will also be home to a daytime coffee spot, craft beer and cocktail bar, a cutting edge nightclub and an exciting new programme of live
concerts and immersive club nights.

Having recently been acquired by DHP Family, the dynamic team behind Oslo in Hackney and
Nottingham’s Rock City, every element of The Garage will be dramatically updated. In addition to refurbishing the main music venue and adding a brand new sound system, three new spaces have also been created within the building, united thematically under the Garage concept.

The centre piece of the redevelopment is the venue itself; The Garage. This 600 capacity room will be restored to former glories, with a brand new PA and lighting install from our long-term audio visual partners’ SSE and a refurbished bar area with a wider range of quality drinks. The refurbishment also takes in improvements in the customer bathrooms as well as better backstage facilities for the artists playing at the venue.

At the front of the building, the former “Mini-Bar” will hark back to the filling station stores of small-town America with The General Store, an all-day café and bar serving craft beer and cocktails. The design of The General Store will feature reclaimed gas pumps, huge beer fridges and superlative coffee. Expect a great range of contemporary cocktails and a changing selection of American and British craft beer.

Upstairs, Thousand Island will be an intimate space hosting breaking and specialist forward-thinking acts most evenings, and late-night socials later in the week featuring an unpretentious programme anchored by collaborative club nights and Thousand Island presents shows. Operating independently from the rest of the space, the room will feature a mirror ball-filled ceiling, faces of friends of the venue across one wall, and a well-stocked bar.

Since opening in 1993, The Garage has hosted artists as diverse as Radiohead, Lil Yachty, Mogwai, Bring Me The Horizon and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, to name a few. DHP Family will retain this history while also programming the stars of tomorrow and a roster of leading clubnights, ensuring that the overall experience is at the high level expected of a world class venue.

“The Garage has been on my radar for about 10 years now when I first looked to buy it. For one reason or another we have just missed out on taking over this iconic venue and breathing new life into it. Its location layout and history are perfect for what we are looking for in a venue and we look forward to reinventing the space for a new generation.”  – George Akins, Managing Director