When the Lamp Post Bar & Grill closes its doors for the last time this Saturday, downtown Jersey City will lose not just one of its favorite watering holes and eateries, but a vital cog in the city’s music scene.

According to former manager Sean Fitzgerald, “The Lamp Post is closing because it’s time to move on." Fitzgerald, who managed the bar under three different owners for over 13 years, said the one constant during all that time were the Lamp Post’s customers. "The regulars here weren’t just bar friends, they became real friends,” he said. “That’s something that doesn’t happen too often.”

Beverly Ann Patterson, who’s been the Lamp Post’s booker for the last few months, added, “it’s a sticky situation and a combination of a lot of things, but everybody’s really bummed out. The live shows there have been such a staple for this community.”

When patrons, musicians, and even employees talk about the Lamp Post, it’s not the savory mac ‘n’ cheese with bacon or the tap beers or even the live music they say they’ll miss the most, as much as the venue’s unique chemistry.

For some it was an after-work pit stop for a cheap meal and a cold beer; for others, a weekly excursion to check out Jersey City’s indigenous bands. The Lamp Post will be remembered as a venue where locals could always find a place to play, even if they were playing for the first time and hadn’t developed a draw yet. Fitgerald noted that the current owners are looking to open up another location, one with more room to accommodate live music and larger events.

“The owners have also developed a friendship with the regulars, and now that the end is near, it’s a sad reality for all of us,” Fitzgerald added.

Located at 322 2nd Street, the Lamp Post plans a gala farewell party for Saturday, January 10, beginning at 4:30 p.m. with a cover band. A bluegrass set and then performances by Jersey City’s Money $hot and Black Wail will follow, and the night will end with a DJ dance party, according to Patterson.

“I think my favorite memories of the place will be the times I just stumbled in and discovered a band I had never heard of playing there,” said Patterson, who became a Lamp Post regular after moving to Jersey City four years ago. “I remember when a band from Indiana was passing through town and their van broke down, and they just showed up looking for a place to play. They were called Joseph Power & The Great Train Robbery and they were amazing! And they just wound up playing there completely by accident.”

“This was a neighbor joint that just lent itself to the open-arms welcoming feeling I think everyone had at the Lamp Post,” said former bartender and booker Candice Leger. “People made friends here, lifelong friends. You can live in Williamsburg a month, go out every night, and not have one real human interaction. In this part of downtown, we smile at you, we pet your dog, we buy you a shot. Seeing it close means a whole lot for the rest of our community.”

“I think the Lamp Post is the last of a dying breed in downtown Jersey City, as the area continues to gentrify,” said musician Bram Teitelman, whose band Black Wail will play the final performance at the bar on Saturday night. “The Lamp Post to me was the very definition of a neighborhood bar, with a solid, regular crowd, relatively inexpensive, and catering to the people that went there as opposed to trying to find an audience.”

Like most musicians, Teitelman recalls the Lamp Post fondly but with mixed emotions. “It was never an ideal venue for bands on account of the size and (lack of) a stage, and sound issues,” he said. “But it was still always a fun place to play. Black Wail played our first show there last May, and our second two weeks later for the Pushing Up Daisies festival (at the Harsimus Cemetery.) Both shows were a sweaty, fun blur of people, beer, and noise, and we’re psyched to be closing out the Lamp Post’s last night of live music.”

“Hearing the right song at the right moment with the right person… the Lamp Post was built for sentimental moments like that, and I know many JC’ers have a plethora of memories to be thankful for,” added Amy Sue Nahhas, a longtime regular, musician, and deejay. “I’ve very thankful for the opportunities I had there. My personal favorite would be playing bass on Nirvana covers to a completely packed house for the snowed-out Ghost of Uncle Joe’s event in 2011. I am super thankful for the good times, all who made it happen, and everyone who was there with me.”

Downtown resident Dave Feldman from the band Wyldlife recalled, “I started my DJ ‘career’ there and believe me, I am using the term loosely. As far as playing shows, it was terrible sound, you stood behind the monitors, the beer was warm… and I also had some of the most fun times there ever. But whoever designed that front door that opens INTO the bar should be shot!”

“One thing I really appreciated about the Lamp Post is the cross section of music that played there,” added Bram Teitelman. “From solo acts to bluegrass to open mic jams, the Lamp Post ran the gamut, and it’s a shame that Jersey City has so many talented bands and won’t have a venue to regularly showcase them anymore for the foreseeable future. I hope someone realizes soon that the second biggest city in New Jersey has a pretty big void for live and local music now.”

While the Lamp Post will definitely be missed, there have been some encouraging signs in downtown Jersey City, like WFMU's concert space, "Monty Hall," which opened in 2014. On January 10, the same night that the Lamp Post will be saying goodbye, "Dancing Tony" Susco will be debuting a new monthly dance party called "Last Saturday" at Porta Pizza (135 Newark Avenue,) while nearby, The Dopeness (332 2nd Street) will bring back live music after renovations with a grand reopening on Saturday, January 17. That show will include several live bands and an open bar for a single $25 entry fee; Morningside Lane, Hurricane Season, Japanda, The Blithdale Romance, and Ravens Ballroom will perform with doors opening at 6 p.m. Advance tickets are available from brownpapertickets.com.

