Author: Pete Mason

On the corner of Lark and Hudson, one building hosts a great deal of women’s history that continues to be written to this day. 

Built over 100 years ago, this building served as the location for the 48th Annual Suffrage Convention, as a chapter house for the Daughters of the Eastern Star (the female equivalent to Free Masons), as well as hosting USO events, dances, and a then serving as the eba Center for Dance & Fitness from 1977 until 2017.

Lark Hall, opened in 2021, continues this tradition of music and the arts at Lark and Hudson still being written 11 decades later, with the opening of a coffee house/bar/taproom, The Eleven.

Owner and manager of The Eleven, Jenn Miller, looks at The Eleven as bringing the building vision to full capacity, replacing Lark Street Yoga and Lark Street Mercantile in the downstairs of the building. Connecting to Lark Hall upstairs makes this an ideal pre-show stop, unique among all the choices Lark Street has to offer.

With a staff of four full time employees and another 20 part time between Lark Hall and The Eleven – including Chef Dale Hajdasz and General Manager Neil Benjamin, Jr. – Miller’s experience in the restaurant industry during college as well as many years within the live music scene puts a hospitality driven focus towards the guests, artists and staff. Whether it be the restaurant industry or music industry, knowing how to treat people so they want to come back, and bring their friends, is at the forefront of her business ethos. 

Now is the time of returning

Miller attended college at Eastern Connecticut State University, and would meet her husband, Justin, in Saratoga Springs. The pair married in 2002, having three kids and relocating to Rochester where she earned a Masters in Counseling, then moving back to Albany with their family. Working as a guidance counselor in Rochester, Schenectady and Albany City Schools, after 15 years she looked to move out of education and into something new.

The Millers are true live music aficionados who have traveled the country and beyond seeing the best of live music and music festivals, as well as their favorites: My Morning Jacket and Phish. When they would return back to Albany, they lamented the music scene not having certain bands and shows, let alone a venue that club/bar bands can graduate from. At first, they joked about the idea of opening a music venue, and soon it became a goal, and then a serious venture.

Since purchasing the building in 2018, the Millers have invested more than $1 million into the space to increase accessibility to Lark Hall, and also received a grant from the City of Albany for further work. Now with two businesses both opened in the past two years, the vision has come full circle, with a dedicated bar/restaurant downstairs and music venue upstairs. 

Now is the time past believing

The Eleven came to be about a year ago when they sought to utilize the vacated Lark Mercantile space downstairs. With a tenant gone and a grant for small business renovation from the City of Albany, they began work on refurbishing the downstairs into a waffle/charcuterie/taproom, something different and not found elsewhere on Lark. Add in a coffee bar, pastries and desserts, it took about a year for the vision to come full circle and be complete, with a grand opening coming on Saturday, November 11, featuring the music of Holly Bowling.

Dining on small plates of local, French or Italian meats and cheeses, waffles, and Grateful Dead themed sandwiches – “Reuben and Cherise” a fresh take on a classic reuben – the menu is not overwhelming and invites you back to try more of these samplings, carefully curated by Chef Dale. A selection of 12 beers – that’s Eleven, plus (the other) one – from around the Northeast pair well with all culinary offerings, was accompanied the evening of November 3 with a crackling fireplace on the widescreen TV, along with an acoustic set of covers from Jeff Becker. 

A décor of Grateful Dead posters, Stealies, Garcia handprints, and classic show posters from upstairs at Lark Hall around the soffit, the Grateful Dead roots abounding through the modern setting in the perfect neighborhood in Albany for it. Chuck Berry, who played Lark Hall in the 1950s, would smile seeing how far rock ‘n roll has progressed, inspiring the genesis of Lark Hall and The Eleven.

Thought Jewels Polished and Gleaming

Bringing Lark Hall and The Eleven to where they are now has not been easy, as Miller recognizes and recounts the struggles she has experienced as a woman in the music industry. Miller faced an oft male dominated music industry upon the purchase of the building, which led to more skepticism and in-group favoritism against Miller as she navigated getting bands to play at Lark Hall, in the process bringing Albany a needed mid-size venue (current capacity is ~325). Despite opportunities, Miller found a scene less than responsive at first, yet persevered and has proven skeptics wrong, and does so a second time with the addition of The Eleven.

Working with Dan Smalls and Ed Maier – two promoters covering a great deal of Upstate New York and the Northeast – as mentors to Miller, offering guidance on booking shows and bringing in a variety of acts to Lark Hall. Miller sees the bigger picture of what is possible in the area as a result of this mentorship.

“With the growing scene in Albany, what should be happening is everyone in the local industry – tourism, businesses and promoters – working together to grow the scene for all benefit.”

Jenn Miller

The result is a calendar with a wider variety of shows than any other venue in the Capital Region. This summer, Lark Hall featured a month long residency of musical RENT, and in the past year welcomed Daniel Donato, The Motet, Ghost Light, Circles Around the Sun, The Seapods, LaMP, Karina Rykman, Yo La Tengo, Midnights: A Taylor Swift Dance Party, among dozens of others.

With a background of a guidance counselor as well as a business owner, I asked Miller what resources she would suggest for ambitious female entrepreneurs who are looking to open their own business or venture. Research through experience, as well as patience, are the keys to Miller, starting with making sure to find your spot in the scene. Beyond that, it is most important to learn the backend tasks that no one sees, as she sees that knowledge and experience to be where everything comes together. Indeed, getting involved and off the periphery is the best start, but diving in and finding a niche can bring greater curiosity and reward.

Were Miller able to give advice to her younger self, she shares a nod to the Grateful Dead, “Without love in a dream it will never come true.”

Albany’s Lark Street – the “Village in the City” – gains a feather in its cap with the City Winery vibe found at The Eleven, and along with Lark Hall upstairs, this double threat venue on Lark Street brings new life to an old building and neighborhood. Tickets for Holly Bowling at Lark Hall on November 11 can be found here.