The building that houses Nectar’s (as well as Club Metronome), located at 188 Main Street in Burlington, VT has hit the market. The building has been listed by real estate broker VT Commercial, and the sellers are asking $2.5 million for the property (though the venues within the building maintain longstanding leases for their respective spaces).
Even if they’ve never been to Vermont, virtually every Phish fan is familiar with Nectar’s, the Burlington music venue where the band honed their musical craft during their formative years. The band played regular gigs at the restaurant/venue throughout the mid to late ’80’s to initially sparse but increasingly loyal audiences. Eventually, word spread through the local music scene, the crowds got bigger, and the band began to outgrow the bar and spread out to bigger venues and bigger cities–often with their hard-earned Nectar’s faithful in tow.
Phish’s connection to the venue and appreciation for its role in their success has been widely document. The band named their 1992 album, A Picture of Nectar, in honor of the venue’s then-proprieter Nectar Rorris, and their time playing in the Burlington room has been discussed as a main inspiration behind this summer’s upcoming 13-night Baker’s Dozen residency at Madison Square Garden. As Trey Anastasio explained in a recent interview with JamBase, the band expects to cultivate atmosphere they haven’t felt since their Nectar’s days this summer in New York City.
So, what’re you waiting for? Go pull out that extra $2.5M you’ve been keeping in your sock drawer for a rainy day and purchase yourself a piece of Phish-tory.
[h/t – JamBase]
[Cover photo via Nectar’s]