Credit: Wiki
First-time operator Thomas Russo thinks that now is the time for a new piano bar and that Lakewood is the right place to open it. He’s been hard at work converting the old Detroiter (and World of Beer) space along that suburb’s busy restaurant row into Ivory Keys (14701 Detroit Ave.), a dueling piano bar. He expects to have it open by the middle of December.

You can save Russo your jokes about the 1990s, Zima and fanny packs; he’s heard them all. And while Howl at the Moon is no longer in Cleveland, it had a good, long run in the Flats. That concept, as we all know, was followed up by The Big Bang, which has been amusing tipsy bachelorettes since it opened two years ago.

“Howl at the Moon is still around in various states and so are other companies like Sing Sing in Pennsylvania,” he explains. “It’s moving back this way. Just look at Big Bang down in the Flats. Live entertainment, if done right, brings people in.”

Like those other entertainment venues, Ivory Keys will feature the typical setup of a pair of grand piano shells equipped with digital keyboards, a drum kit, and special sound and lighting systems. Guests are given request forms and pencils to write down the names of songs like Friends in Low Places, Mustang Sally and September.

But unlike those facilities, Ivory Keys will not charge a cover fee and will fly in national talent as opposed to relying on the same rotating squad of regular performers, Russo says.

“This will be way different from places like Big Bang because I will have different acts flying in from all over the country – not the same three guys,” he points out. “Some of these guys have their own following.”

The piano bar format will run Thursday through Saturday nights. The other nights will be fueled by live entertainment of other sorts, be it music or comedy. While World of Beer served no food, the Detroiter owners added a kitchen. That kitchen, under Russo’s management, will serve a menu of Italian soups, salads and entrees.

When he’s done with it, the space will have a “modern but retro feel” with lots of room for standing. “I want people to interact,” he says.

Which is a characteristic typically lacking from your average bar, he adds.

“Bars are kind of boring; you sit there, look at a TV, and hope that some girls walk in,” he says. “There are a lot of great bars downtown, but I want to bring something different to Lakewood.”

This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2017.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

8 replies on “Old Detroiter Space in Lakewood to Become Ivory Keys Dueling Piano Bar”

  1. Can they do those classic tunes from “the Great American Songbook” (Forties through Sixties) as well? Geezers (the Boomers) just want to have fun, too! Will this be a venue they might like? Or is it going to be more of the same “kid stuff” found elsewhere?

    Chuckles the Clown

  2. We will have all sorts of performers, the piano players have talent to play it all. We will also be hosting other entertainment like the spazmatics who do a variety as well. Our goal is to incorporate as many styles to match the diversity within Lakewood. Very excited for the opening! It is gunning to be a blast!

  4. Your canned answer completely dodged the question about what kind of music the piano players will perform, and from what eras.

    And you’ve booked the Spazmatics , who also play at Edgewater and in other NE Ohio venues? That tells me what I didn’t want to hear…you’re going with the same old same old…a chain band that plays New Wave and cover songs from the 1980s. Seriously?

    In case anyone still thought they were strictly local, there are Spazmatics lineups based in Dallas, Austin, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Nashville, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Chicago, North Carolina, South Carolina, San Antonio and New York City.

    I hope and pray that the piano folks have more to offer than a Mickey Ds cover band that can be found anywhere.

    Chuckles the Clown

  6. it would appear this place has already closed, supposedly due to being evicted from their location and music equipment repo’d. 3 weeks open. that’s gotta be a record for shortest time open

  7. I heard it on channel 5 news this am that this place has already shut down for good, regret that I never made it

  8. this person who was “running” it is a scammer extraordinare. It is truly shameful that this has happened again!!! There are many people on his list of scams and I happen to be one of them. I am so sorry this continues to negatively impact innocent peoples’ lives. Karma.

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