Toad's Place is a

concert venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...

and

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

located in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

History

The building, located on York Street down the street from Ashley's Ice Cream and across an alley from Mory's Temple Bar, was the original location of the Yale Co-op. During the 1960s, it was a popular restaurant called Hungry Charlie's and then the location of Caleb's Tavern. In 1974, Michael Spoerndle, formerly a student at the

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

, rented the building for a French and Italian restaurant, which opened in March 1975. He named it Toad's Place, after a childhood joke. He said, "When my parents were going out to dinner, they would tell me they were going to such-and-such, and I thought it would be funny if they said, 'We're going to Toad's Place.' Plus, people who didn't go out and stayed at home, we'd call them 'toads.' It was the equivalent of a couch potato."Fried, Fran, "Twenty years of rock 'n' roll: Toad's Place hits milestone", ''New Haven Register'', January 1, 1995, page A1 In 1976, Spoerndle turned the restaurant into a live music venue,Ball, Molly, "After swerving off-course, a grab for the wheel", ''Yale Herald'', September 29, 2000
/ref> working with a local musician named Peter Menta to bring in bands.

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

and

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...

were some of the first performers. In 1976, Brian Phelps joined as manager and eventually co-owner. Phelps took control in 1995, after Spoerndle's numerous problems with alcohol and drug addiction. Spoerndle died on May 6, 2011. In 1983, a second location opened in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

, although it lasted only three years. In 2007, a franchise location in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

opened with a concert by the

Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by Jimbo Mathus, James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (singer), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), ...

. It included a restaurant and club for up to 1,500 visitors.Neman, Daniel, "Toad's Place opens on a smooth note", '' Richmond Times-Dispatch'', June 22, 2007, page B3 The principal owner was Charles Joyner, a local physician who was a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

at Toad's Place while he was a Yale undergraduate in the 1980s. On 9 March 2009, Toad's Place Richmond was closed.Peters, Mitchell, "Toad's Place In Richmond To Close?", ''Billboard.Biz'', March 10, 2009
/ref> All scheduled shows were canceled and/or moved to The National, another venue in Richmond. A third location was planned for

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Verel, Patrick, "For a Hopping Club, The Beat Goes Onward", ''New York Times'', November 19, 2006
/ref>

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for '' Prototype' ...

, a jazz keyboardist, included an instrumental piece called ''Toad's Place'' on his album ''Water Sign''. Through mutual friends, singer

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

met future wife, actress

Sheri Moon Sheri Moon Zombie (born Sheri Lyn Skurkis; September 26, 1970) is an American actress, model, dancer and fashion designer. Early life Moon was born on September 26, 1970, in San Jose, California, the daughter of William "Bill" Skurkis (1947–201 ...

, at Toad's in 1989. They married on Halloween of 2002.

Notable concerts

Incidents with under-age drinking

In September 2002, Toad's Place was fined $25,000 and closed for a week after underage drinkers were found on the premises. In May 2007, it closed for ninety days, after a November 5, 2005 inspection by the state Liquor Control Commission found 142 underage drinkers were present. The owner paid a fine of $90,000 in addition to the ninety-day closure. It reopened on August 4, 2007 with a concert by

Badfish Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime is a Rhode Island-based tribute band dedicated to playing the music of Sublime. The band should not be confused with the southern California-based band of the same name. The group is named after a song appearing o ...

, a Sublime

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...

.Sirois, Kevin, "Toad Hops Anew: 90 days later and $90K lighter, an entertainment franchise is born", ''Business New Haven'', August 20, 2007

References

External links

Toad's Place New Haven
{{Coord, 41.311488, N, 72.929511, W, display=title Music venues in Connecticut Tourist attractions in New Haven, Connecticut Nightclubs in the United States Rock music venues Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut Economy of New Haven, Connecticut