Ever heard of the forever 27 Club? Local couple Natasha Poor and Imran Malik sure have, and they're opening up a bar downtown in its honor.

The 27 Club is a list of popular musicians, artists and actors who died at the height of their careers, all at age 27. The list famously includes Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Brian Jones, who all perished between 1969 and 1971.

And later this year in Asheville, the 27 Club will also be a bar and venue, "an elegant rock 'n' roll dive bar dedicated to deceased musicians," explained Poor, who is opening the bar at 180 Patton Ave. with her husband, Malik.

"Elegant and rock 'n' roll dive bar don't usually go together in the same sentence," she said with a laugh, "but my husband is a musician and I'm an art historian, so we're both really interested in bringing together these two passions in this space."

In the building formerly occupied by Sherwood's Music, Poor and Malik have plans to host live music acts — "from bands to experimental musicians and all kinds of things" — and to also use the space as a pop-up art venue for local artists to exhibit their work. (Sherwood's Music moved to 108 N. Lexington Ave. and rebranded to HeyDay Musical in 2016.)

The couple is still early in the process of opening the bar, awaiting permits to start making small changes to the building and obtaining a beer and liquor license to serve dive bar basics.

"We love the bones of the place, so we’re really trying to change as little as possible — leaving the black and white floor tiles, leaving the paint job in the main room," Poor explained. "We love it the way it is, but we do need to add a couple things, like bathrooms and the bar and the dividing wall between the garage and the front spaces — the things required just to get us open."

At this point, the couple is hoping to open 27 Club in October, with the bar initially maxing its capacity at 49.

Down the road, they're hoping to expand the space, raising the occupancy and allowing for a wider variety of musical acts.

"We're starting out a little small just to get open, but very quickly after, raising that by opening up the back garage area ... and creating a garden space a little later as well," Poor said.

The couple has no plans to cook or serve food from the venue but welcomed the idea of working with food trucks to accommodate hungry patrons.

Originally from Hendersonville, Poor moved away to attend graduate school in New York, where she met her husband, moving back to the area about two years ago. Both have experience working in and managing bars and have long dreamed of opening up 27 Club.

"We're so excited to join the collaborative environment and community spirit there is here," Poor said. "This is a perfect space to bring our own passions to life and to contribute to what's going on here."

To follow along with the new bar's opening process, like its Facebook page at facebook.com/27clubavl.