Page 7 - BusinessWest April 4, 2022

The graffiti on the wall outside Amherst Coffee helped inspire the name of Amherst’s new live- performance and music venue.
name and creating a venue they expect will be just as successful when it comes to making mem- ories that will live on for decades.
Indeed, the Drake is the name going over the door of a live performance and music venue that will go into space last occupied by the High Horse restaurant. The facility, to be operated
by the Downtown Amherst Foundation (DAF), a 501(c)(3) that was founded to bring arts and culture to the Amherst area, is due to open April
26. and when it does,
it is expected to have an immediate and profound impact on Amherst and its down- town, said Gabrielle Gould, executive direc- tor of the town’s Busi- ness Improvement Dis- trict (BID), who played a key role in putting the many pieces of the puzzle together for this project.
She told Business- West that repeated stud- ies revealed that what was missing from the landscape in Amherst’s downtown was a venue for live music, one that could compete with sev- eral such facilities across
the Connecticut River in Northampton and not only keep Amherst residents and area college stu- dents in that community, but bring people from across Western Mass. — and perhaps the North- east — to the town.
“We see people consistently going across the bridge and spending anywhere from $60 to $400 a night because of the amount of entertainment and music that is in that area,” Gould said. “For me, creating a vibrant downtown has to be expe- rience-driven, and if you’re not providing arts and culture and experiences surrounding that, what is there to come here for?”
Roberts agreed.
“This is a game changer — an absolute game changer,” said Roberts, who is also president of the BID, adding that the facility has the potential to become what the Drake was — a landmark, a drawing card, and an attraction that will create memories for generations of people.
“When COVID hit, it really came to a place where we realized that we had a moment, and we needed to strike when the iron was hot.”
While doing that, the Drake will play a key role in an ongoing resurgence, or comeback story for downtown Amherst, said Gould, adding that the district lost a number of businesses — 15 by her count — during the pandemic. Many were res- taurants, but there was some retail as well, she noted, adding that almost that many new busi- nesses have been added in recent months, bring- ing vibrancy and excitement to the area.
Overall, she sees the Drake project as one very important chapter in an emerging story involv- ing a new and more vibrant downtown Amherst, one that is well-positioned for what happens post-COVID.
“There’s a future here that is unlike anything that anyone could have envisioned five years ago,” she said, adding that the pieces are falling into place for this community that was so hard- hit by the pandemic.
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FEATURE
APRIL 4, 2022 7
Staff Photo