The Stomping Ground is putting its best foot forward. The 12-year-old music venue and restaurant in Putnam is seeking to expand its operations, while also looking to stabilize its business in the longterm.
Terry Paquette created the space in 2012 specifically as a gathering spot for the local music community. He wanted there to be quality craft beers but also an impressive food menu so that it wouldn’t be all about drinking. Likewise, he made sure the room had a dining area with tables and chairs and not just bar stools or lounge seats.
The Stomping Ground has a chance to double its capacity and greatly expand its dining area by taking over a vacant space next door. The spaces share a landlord and there are even double-doors already connecting them. Having had to pass on the possibility of gaining the extra space several times, Paquette decided he couldn’t let it slip again. He’s launched a $40,000 GoFundMe to pay for the new lease agreement and also make necessary improvements.
The GoFundMe campaign was launched on Oct. 14. As of Oct. 26, nearly $5,000 had been raised.
The next door space has been vacant before and Paquette has been eyeing it for years.
“People have been asking for years when we were going to take over that space. Another business owner saw it and told me if I could increase the seating, I could increase the business and the new space would pay for itself. I decided then that the next time this opportunity happened I was going to try.”
Extra seating, he said, will also help patrons who want to sit further away from the stage.
Courtesy of the Stomping Ground
The entranceway of the Stomping Ground in downtown Putnam. The club is seeking to expand into an adjacent storefront and has launched a $40,000 GoFundMe campaign.(Courtesy of the Stomping Ground)
The Stomping Ground has always been both a solid small business model and a true labor of love. Paquette was in a ska/punk band in his youth, then began setting up impromptu music shows in rehearsal studios and other places. About 17 years ago, he started a series of backyard concerts where he encouraged his musician friends to do solo acoustic sets. “It was never a rager. There was a listening room atmosphere,” he said. “After three years of that, a friend said ‘You should do this for a living.’” A wine bar in downtown Putnam was on its way out and seemed like an ideal space.”
Paquette prepared for opening a live music venue by becoming a DJ on the UConn community radio station WHUS. “I did it specifically to get exposure to the music community,” he said. He had some experience working in restaurants that helped him plan the bar and restaurant aspects of the business.
His goal, he said, was “an English pub-style bar with craft beers and original music all the time.” He’s as thrilled as anyone that he pulled it off. “I never thought I’d do it myself. I just thought it should exist.”
Live music started happening on the very first night. “Except for COVID, we’ve had music every night we’ve been open. The idea is art, music and camaraderie.” To focus on the sounds, the venue eschews screens — there are no TVs at the Stomping Ground, and Paquette declined to put in one of those screens that promotes the beer selection.
Even the weekly trivia night, standard midweek fare at many clubs and bars, has a musical element at the Stomping Ground. The hosts are also musicians who incorporate those talents into the question-asking, then take crowd requests for a live karaoke session following the quiz.
At first there was a general rule that music acts could only expect to play The Stomping Ground once every six to eight weeks at best. But over time, some music acts have become cherished regulars that can be reliably found on certain nights. Some of them typically bring in special guests, which promises variety and surprises. The Americana/bluegrass group Alpaca Lunch plays on the second Sunday of every month. The eclectic funk/rock/ jam trio ONeal Armstrong, featuring guitarist Charlie O’Neal, bassist Rick O’Neal and drummer J.J. Armstrong, have a steady gig on the second Friday of each month. The Attractors, a ska/reggae/rocksteady/jazz band from Boston whose members have played with such revered acts as The Skatalites and The Selecter, play at 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month. “Anything with horns, I’m down,” Paquette said of his passion for ska.
Courtesy of the Stomping Ground
Mike Wood performs at the Stomping Ground during the annual winter Fire & Ice festival in Putnam. (Courtesy of the Stomping Ground)
One of its traditions that The Stomping Ground is most proud of is its weekly open mics on Sundays at 7 p.m. Another weekly highlight is the Straight Up Jazz Series on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
“There are so many musicians,” he said. “It’s pretty wild. I get of people coming from Providence and Worcester but also Hartford and from around here. The first artist he booked was Seamus McMullan ,who’d been a fixture at the wine bar which occupied the site before the Stomping Ground.
He’s seen musicians who played the Stomping Ground earlier in their careers move on to bigger things. He mentioned seeing the duo Jocelyn & Chris Arndt play on “The Today Show” and remembering them on the Stomping Ground stage. David Gans, the Grateful Dead specialist who does loop-assisted solo electric guitar performances, has played the Stomping Ground numerous times. The legendary country-rock siblings The Rowan Brothers have played there. Among the local bands that call the Stomping Ground home are Putnam’s own funk/groove ensemble Stattic.
While the odd cover song is allowed, the emphasis is on original songs. “I tell everybody that 50 percent of their shows should be original,” Paquette said. “I understand the need to do covers, especially at open mics, but original music is important. I like the Stomping Ground to be an incubator for bands.”
The space also displays visual art from the local arts community, including a 24-foot dragon sculpture that hangs from the ceiling. The artistic feel came from Paquette’s ex-wife who was in on the birth of the club.
The stage is small and oddly shaped — 6 feet wide and 13 feet deep, framed on two sides by the windows on the street side and entranceway of the club — but as many as 10 musicians have fit upon it at once.
The performance area is just one more example of the unique, homespun, tight community feel of the Stomping Ground. Paquette credited the bar manager Stephanie and chef Katie with maintaining both the inviting atmosphere of the place and the quality of the food and drink.
“There are so many big box things in the world now,” Paquette said. “There’s nothing heartfelt out there anymore. Grassroots is the way to go.”
Dining and Cooking