Crocodile Cafe

The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe)

The Croc
Crocodile Cafe, February 2007
Location	Belltown, Seattle, Washington, USA
Type	Music venue
Opened	1991
Renovated	2009
Expanded	2009
Website	http://www.thecrocodile.com/

The Crocodile (formerly The Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called the Croc) is a music club at 2200 2nd Avenue at Blanchard Street in the neighborhood of Belltown in Seattle, Washington, USA. Opened as the "Crocodile Cafe" on April 30, 1991 by Stephanie Dorgan, it quickly became a fixture on the local music scene. It closed on December 15, 2007.^[1] and re-opened on March 18, 2009.

The venue's first show featured The Posies and Love Battery; the last, Robin Pecknold, J. Tillman, and David Bazan. During its initial 16-year run, the Croc hosted numerous well-known acts including Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Mad Season, Joanna Newsom, Cheap Trick, Indigo Girls, Robyn Hitchcock, Porcupine Tree, Glenn Tilbrook, Rhonda Vincent, Death Cab for Cutie, Yoko Ono, Ann Wilson, Sleater-Kinney, R.E.M., Soft Boys, Built to Spill, Neutral Milk Hotel, Dinosaur Jr, Beastie Boys, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rachael Yamagata, Kevn Kinney of Drivin N Cryin, Ventures, Chris Knox, Harvey Danger, and The Presidents of the United States of America.

After opening the Crocodile Cafe, owner Stephanie Dorgan later married R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck who became a partner in the Crocodile. Buck often played there with his other band, The Minus 5. Dorgan and Buck divorced in 2006 and the Croc closed unexpectedly in December 2007.^[1]

The closing of the Crocodile Cafe, a fixture of the local music scene, caused widespread speculation in regard to the future of the establishment. In May 2008, reports of Johnny Depp's interest in buying the Cafe surfaced in Seattle.^[2] After months of speculation, a group of business people and musicians^[who?]including Alice in Chains' Sean Kinney purchased the establishment. The new owners renamed it "The Crocodile" and reopened it in March 2009 after much-needed renovation.

Scenes from the 1995 Jennifer Jason Leigh film Georgia were shot at the venue.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Crocodile Cafe abruptly closes its doors." Scanlon, Tom. The Seattle Times. December 17, 2007.
2. ^ "Surely this is too wild-ass bonkers to be true: Johnny Depp buying the Croc?" Three Imaginary Girls. May 8, 2008.
3. ^ "Seattle's Crocodile Cafe closes." Marshall, John. Seattle Post Intelligencer. December 18, 2007.

http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2009/03/17/the_crocodile_opens_this_thurs