Press release: Capital Region restaurateur celebrates grand opening of live music and event space in Downtown
Albany, NY -- The new live music and event venue, Ophelia’s, celebrated its grand opening in downtown Albany on Thursday, October 10. The owner, Shane Spillenger, and Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID) Executive Director Georgette Steffens were joined by City of Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy at the 388 Broadway location.
Ophelia’s operates Monday through Saturday, offering quality comfort food from lunch to late evening, handcrafted cocktails, an extensive draft list, and live music from local to national acts.
The owner chose the location due to its proximity to MVP Arena and future development plans of the Downtown area, including the potential of a new 8,000-seat soccer stadium that would sit adjacent to the restaurant. The space is designed to host live events, equipped with a full bar, dining area, and small concert venue.
Formerly known as “The Parish Public House” and “Red Square,” Ophelia’s will host live music in the nearly 250-person capacity stage area, like the former two businesses. However, Spillenger aims to make the space more family-friendly by including a kids' menu and holding kid-oriented events. He also plans to attract the Downtown lunch crowd by offering quick and tasty meals.
Comfort foods such as mozzarella sticks and loaded fries, burgers such as the "Wake & Bake," served with a fried egg, bacon, and American cheese, and sandwiches such as the "Ropa," which includes slow-cooked Spanish-style beef, are on the menu.
The event space is available for rent to private parties. Ophelia's also hosts open mic night on Mondays, trivia on Tuesdays, and karaoke on Wednesdays.
“We are doing some family things on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. We recently did a kid's rave brunch. We had a little breakfast buffet for the kids, and we had a DJ in the back playing Taylor Swift and Disney songs. It was fun. It was a bunch of kids enjoying themselves,” he said.
As for upcoming musical performances, Spillenger said there are no restrictions. So far this October, Ophelia's hosted a Grateful Dead cover band, an EDM night, a Drag night, a Taylor Swift singalong, and has plans to host a Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band and Glass Pony with Ernie and The Band.
"There is something for everyone," he said.
Ophelia’s is not Spillenger’s first foray into the restaurant business nor his first brush with the live music industry. A Capital Region native, he grew up working in various restaurants and bars that his father, the late Ralph Spillenger, owned and operated, including the downtown Albany-based Bayou (now The Hollow Kitchen + Bar) and Jillian’s, putting in 70-hour weeks at the height of the popularity of these establishments.
He also founded PearlPalooza in 2009, downtown Albany’s largest, free, one-day music festival, and runs a promotional company called Sugar Productions. In 2013, Spillenger opened Nanola, a restaurant and bar in Malta with New Orleans influences. With 11 years of experience as a restaurant owner, Spillenger decided to open a second restaurant and music venue in downtown Albany.
Spillenger said the name "Ophelia's" was influenced by the popular Lumineers song and The Band song with the same title. He also liked the femininity of the name, which, he said, reflected his warmer, friendlier vision for this space.
For more information, visit Ophelia's website at www.ophelias.rocks or call 518.587.1300.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said: "Businesses like Ophelia's contribute to the vibrancy of our Downtown. It appeals to our multi-faceted and diverse community, providing family-friendly entertainment, fast lunch service, a variety of live music, and late-night food options. We're thrilled that Shane Spillenger, a Capital Region native and long-time restaurateur, decided to revive this music venue and take it to the next level."
Assemblymember Patricia Fahy said: "There is so much optimism about the future of Downtown. Between the expanded plans of Interstate 787 to better access the Hudson River, potential new housing development, a soccer stadium, and more, it takes an entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, investment, and risk to buy into our optimism. So, we are grateful to Shane Spillenger for revitalizing this space and contributing to the development of this area, and I know that our legislative members will be visiting here often once we are back in session."
The Downtown Albany BID Executive Director Georgette Steffens said: "We're thrilled to see the resurgence of this space in the hands of Shane Spillenger, a long-time restauranteur and downtown Albany advocate. His experience and passion for the region’s live music scene make Ophelia’s an incredible addition to our world-class entertainment venues here in the core of our city. We're grateful that Shane has invested in our District and continued his father's legacy of developing our Downtown community."
About Ophelias
Ophelia's is a live music and event venue bringing quality late-night food, drinks, and live music to Albany. It is open Monday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, Tuesday through Thursday from 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
