The Blank Club may be closing on Jan. 31, but owner Cory O’Brien and his staff are far from finished with the downtown San Jose music scene. The Spectrum, will open the doors of the building previously helmed by The Usual and The F/X Club for the first time since 2007.

Located in San Jose’s SoFA District, the area seems quiet at the moment. “I think our presence will change that a lot,” said current Blank Club and future Spectrum sound engineer Chris Racine.

O’Brien assures that the strip near his new club at 400 S. 1st St is coming back to life. “The Continental just opened up there. Cafe Stritch and The Back Bar are right there too.”

O’Brien says he’s had his eyes on the new building for quite some time. ” We’ve been looking for a new place for years. We’ve been looking at that building for years. It just took this long to get it going. I grew up there, I’ve always wanted it.”

After owning and operating The Blank Club for nearly 13 years O’Brien is confident about opening his new doors. “One thing we know for sure,” he said. “It’ll sound better in there than it’s ever sounded.” Originally a theater, the building is set up acoustically.

“Ultimately, the cost of hosting a big band, in the capacity that we have to deal with — it just doesn’t make sense” said Gilmore in reference to his time at with The Blank Club. ” But over there (at The Spectrum) we can really do it.” O’Brien elaborated further saying the new venue is equipped with a proper, full-sized stage.

“The facility is set up to do these kind of productions. That’s the key thing,” added Racine.

The new location doesn’t come without its fair share of obstacles. “The building had gone into disrepair. The previous owners had really let a lot maintenance go. We’re really the first ones in decades who actually put the place right. Fixing the roof, fixing the water damage, fixing a lot of things,” explained Racine. “Electrical was all a mess. We’ve had to go in and try to figure out why past owners did what they did. A lot of stuff is ‘hodge-podge’ and is not safe in my opinion. I’m a big believer in safety. I don’t take that lightly.”

Not only will O’Brien be adding a brand new, revamped venue to the mix, he’ll be bringing back a staple from his earlier days, The Front Bar, which is attached to the front lobby in The Spectrum.

“We all used to hang out and I used to DJ there,” reminisced O’Brien. “My DJ night was called ‘The Blank Club’. The Blank Club started in that building.”

The Front Bar will have additional benefits Racine is looking forward to as well. “It’ll be a good way to get away from the from the energy of the mainstay of the room. In the Blank Club there’s no escape. There’s no way to get away from what’s going on, and that’s something we’ve had to deal with. Patrons had to deal with that too.” Racine explained that The Front Bar will provide a much welcomed solution to that longtime point of contention.

Kyle Gilmore, the current manager of Blank Club added ” The Front Bar is going to be open 7 days a week as a separate entity. It’ll have its own vibe. It’ll develop itself. When we have shows we’ll open the doors and let people in from there as well.”

Shows may be happening quite soon. O’Brien confirmed that they have already started the booking process and that large scale bands like The English Beat are anxious to take the new stage.

O’Brien is aiming to have a soft opening for The Spectrum and The Front Bar in early March, with a Grand opening to follow at a later date. Gilmore assures,”It’s going to be exciting.”