New owners to relaunch closing Tempe piano bar

PHOENIX — New ownership will keep the good times rolling at a popular downtown Tempe piano bar that was set to close in a couple weeks.

The Big Bang announced it was closing in a Saturday Facebook post but did not disclose why.

“We will be renaming it (Rock City),” said new co-owner Andrew Walter, adding the spelling would be stylized to Rck City.

Walter said Rck Cty will keep the “laid-back” feel of the Big Bang alive, but with some improvements.

“We are going to have a kitchen,” he said. “We will have pizza and subs and breadsticks and things like that. It’s basically going to be called a nightclub and pizzeria.”

Calling the relaunch a “fresh face” on the current bar, Walter said it’s going to offer an array of musical entertainment.

“We are going to do live music, full band,” he said. “Karaoke is another thing we’re going to do.”

And yes, dueling pianos are part of the plan.

“Right now, I know we’re going to have the dueling pianos on Tuesday nights,” he said.

There’s no timetable for the opening.

The Big Bang, part of a small chain based in Tennessee, opened its doors in 2003. The chain’s original location, St. Louis, closed last year. Other Big Bangs are located in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio. Another location is scheduled to open in Cleveland in 2015, according to the bar’s website.

KTAR’s Corbin Carson contributed to this report.