Northside Grille: Music to the Ears

by Charles McGuigan 05.2023

After a twelve-year run, Shenanigans on MacArthur Avenue closed its doors for good and all on the last day of 2011, and just like that Bellevue lost its live music venue. 

But now, thanks to Brett Cassis, live music has finally returned to the Northside, and in a very big way. Every Thursday through Sunday (times vary) there’s live music of every conceivable genre either inside Northside Grille or out on the Patio.

Brett has a long history with Richmond’s restaurants and live music. From deejaying and booking bands at Bird In Hand, Famous Franks and Rock Bottom, to being the co-founder of The route one South music conference, Brett has multiple connections with bands both local and national. Route one South included a three-day festival with 300 bands over three nights in thirty venues throughout the city. Brett also took his skills to the Flood Zone, and then began working at Main Stage Productions. Throughout that period he also tended bar and waited tables. 

Two years ago, Brett joined the staff at Northside Grille as a server and a bartender. “We were coming out of the pandemic and so I did random shows on the Patio,” he says. “During the winter we moved inside and started doing shows, and then it sort of just built up.”

Originally bands just performed on Thursday nights. “Then we started doing Fridays and Saturdays,” says Brett. “It just took off after that. I called some of the people I knew from the past and that worked out well.” A number of the musicians who perform at Northside also live in the neighborhood.  “There are some very talented musicians in Bellevue,” Brett says. “The word started getting around.”  

Unlike so many other bars and restaurants that feature live music, Northside Grille does not have a cover charge.  And patrons of this Bellevue dining institution tend to be extremely generous. “A lot of bands playing for tips realized how much they could make at a place like our place,” according to Brett. “There are a number of bands that make a lot of money with just the tips.”

Northside Grille has always been known as a family friendly restaurant and bar. “It has that neighborhood family kind of vibe,” says Brett. “When bands from outside the neighborhood play here, we see the people they bring in becoming regulars. The food’s great, the staff is great. And the layout of the place just works out for the music.”

He pauses for a moment and then says, “More and more people are coming in, and that was a big part of it from the beginning. I just wanted to create something where people would start cross-pollinating—hanging out and checking out the other bands. And even the bands are learning about other bands here. It’s starting to really create a music scene.”

That’s evident from the crowds that pack the restaurant and the Patio during the live music performances. I’ve been to half a dozen shows there in the past month, and the response from patrons is always the same. Whether on the Patio or in the restaurant proper, folks fairly bubble with enthusiasm, many on their feet, dancing or swaying, many others lining the bar or sitting at the capacious booths, nursing a drink or eating a meal.

Here’s something else: the food and its consistency are as good as it gets, from signature dishes to daily specials. Regardless when we’re there we start off with the lumpia, a sort of Filipino spring roll served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. You crunch through the golden casing to a center of rich, seasoned beef and pork. And then we’ll get down to business with the entrees. 

“A lot of places will start off being a restaurant, then they’ll have bands, and the next thing you know they lose the restaurant crowd,” Brett says. “But we will always be a restaurant. We have a great kitchen staff and the food’s coming out quicker than ever. It all works together well.”

Even the space, which is large enough, inside and out, to accommodate bands and patrons, lends itself to live music. It’s an intimate space, and sound quality is superlative. “The acoustics on the patio are amazing,” says Brett. “And inside the acoustics are great, for as much brick as there is in the walls, there’s that much wood as well.”

Because Northside Grille is a neighborhood eatery, Brett, who also lives in Bellevue, is extremely sensitive to the people who live nearby the restaurant. “We have the shows on the Patio from three till six in the afternoon,” he says. “When we do it outside, we don’t want to do it too late. We don’t want to upset the neighbors, but we always want to bring the best in live music to the neighborhood.”

And that’s what’s happening, and there are a number of musicians who frequently play at Northside, and they represent every sort of music. 

“We try to keep it diverse,” says Brett. He mentions a few of the performers. “We have a lot of offshoots from the band Party Favors. We have the funk band Uncle Peoples from that, and we have Sweet Potatoes which is a jazz band. Mike Gales who’s been on the road with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic he comes in and we’ve been able to pair him up with some of the younger funk bands and those nights are really great. There are others like Kurt Crandall, and so many more.  It’s a good mix of musicians from all over.”

Looking to the future, Brett wants to maintain his allegiance to the bands that regularly play at Northside.  “When you start getting popular you get a lot of bands wanting to play there,” he says. “We’ve already got a sort of lineup of really good musicians, and I want to keep that integrity.”