New performance space jazzes up Metropolis Cafe

Metropolis Cafe welcomes a new addition to its location in downtown Milledgeville.

A new dining section has been added to the seating area. A stage has also been added. This stage has already entertained customers with belly dancing and live performances while guests dine.

“We are all really excited,” said server and Georgia College art student, Taylor Downs.

Metropolis was able to add such a large amount of space because business has been doing really well, especially for a restaurant that is solely a food business rather than a restaurant and bar at night.

“We are not trying to be open until late night like till 2 or 3 o’clock because we do not sell any liquor and we are not going to,” said Owner of Metropolis Cafe, Deepak Kumar. “We are trying to serve food and low entertainment and that’s it.”

The new stage will offer customers to enjoy many different types of performances while dining.

“We just do live music but we do more solo performances like a guitar or a little live jazz during dinner,” Kumar said.

Kumar and Downs says they look forward to hosting a comedy show, variety show, acoustic guitar performances, belly dancing, live Indian music, and much more.

Kumar says there is no set schedule. However, every Thursday night Metropolis Cafe offers Indian food with live music, Kumar says he will try to stay open later on Thursday nights.  Also, on Saturday night there will be live Indian music along with an arrangement of food specials.

Although renovations took four months to build, the outcome is a gorgeous new wooden space and stage that will hold enjoyable memories for customers to come.

“I’m very excited because I never mind working when the band is there because of the crowd and because it is a chill atmosphere,” Downs said. “We’ll be working and serving but we will have the live music in the background and its good music to listen to.”

To make things even more exciting, Downs and Kumar say during Spring and summertime, they want to move the crowd and performances to the patio, maybe even adding on a small stage on the deck.

Kumar has no intentions of staying open for late night.

“I think there’s enough bars in Milledgeville and they can do it and there doesn’t need to be any more competition and I think they are really good bars and we are not that good as a bar, we don’t want to be in competition,” Kumar said.

Downs agrees.

“The atmosphere would be completely different if we did (serve liquor and stay open for late night) and the clientele would change drastically and right now we have a good group of people but I think we just want to keep that clientele,” he said.