The Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel in Davenport was known for its bands, but never developed a following as a bar, one of its owners said. It will close in late August, and the building rebranded as a bar.
The Triple Crown Whiskey Bar and Raccoon Motel, 304 E. 3rd St., Davenport, will close for a bit, then reopen with a different name and without a stage.
The last day for its current name will be Aug. 24, the last day of the Alternating Currents festival. Raccoon Motel is hosting some of the acts for the festival.
Dan Bush, Rich Cooksey, Sean Moeller and Devon Wiese opened the venue in March 2017. Each had a piece of the bar, while Sean Moeller and his Moeller Nights team organized live musical performances, Bush said.
Moeller’s team offered to sell his portion to the other three, Bush said Wednesday, and the sale is in process.
Bush said the facility will shut down for a few weeks for renovation, which includes removal of the stage.
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“The problem with the Raccoon Motel was when we had shows it was great,” Bush said. But on other nights, ‘People didn’t know when they could and couldn’t come. It never really became a hangout for anybody.”
Bush said a grand opening is planned at some point. “We will have a new cocktail menu and we will broaden our offerings,” he said.
“The Raccoon Motel developed with an eclectic and interesting atmosphere to it,” Bush said. “We’re looking to amplify that.”
In the meantime, Moeller says his mission always has been to bring the best, brightest and most entertaining and dynamic young and established artists to the Quad-Cities, as he has for the last 15 years. He wants to "transform this region into a brag-worthy musical hotbed - a place unlike any other, one in which every music lover would be proud to call home."
"The locations may change but the pursuit of that mission won't," said Moeller, who currently books acts at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers, Maquoketa, and The Rust Belt, East Moline.
Photos: Opening Night Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, a bar and performance venue at 304 E. 3rd Street in Davenport, hosted its first-ever concert on Thursday, March 30, 2017, with music from Dent May, Christian Lee Hutson and Boom Forest to a sold-out crowd. The venue, the home of the former Musicians Union Local 67 headquarters, holds about 60 people and is a creation of Quad-City entrepreneurs Rich Cooksey, Devon Weise, Dan Bush and Sean Moeller.
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel
Christian Lee Hutson performs on stage at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, a new bar and performance venue located at 304 E. 3rd Street in Davenport, Thursday, March 30, 2017. The venue, the home of the former Musicians Union Local 67 headquarters, holds about 60 people and is a creation of Quad-City entrepreneurs Rich Cooksey, Devon Wiese, Dan Bush and Sean Moeller.
Boom Forest waves to the crowd from the stage at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, a new bar and performance venue located at 304 E. 3rd Street in Davenport, Thursday, March 30, 2017. The venue, the home of the former Musicians Union Local 67 headquarters, holds about 60 people and is a creation of Quad-City entrepreneurs Rich Cooksey, Devon Wiese, Dan Bush and Sean Moeller.
The Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel in Davenport was known for its bands, but never developed a following as a bar, one of its owners said. It will close in late August, and the building rebranded as a bar.
Christian Lee Hutson performs on stage at the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, a new bar and performance venue located at 304 E. 3rd Street in Davenport, Thursday, March 30, 2017. The venue, the home of the former Musicians Union Local 67 headquarters, holds about 60 people and is a creation of Quad-City entrepreneurs Rich Cooksey, Devon Wiese, Dan Bush and Sean Moeller.
