In late December, the all new Downtown, a live-music venue located at 190 Main St. in Farmingdale, opened its doors to residents from Farmingdale and beyond offering, among other things, an entourage of various musical entertainment. Now, almost two months later, the establishment believes in being a good neighbor and has a strong presence in the community.

The 6,000 square foot venue, which was completely renovated after the current owners bought it from the owners of the old Downtown, includes raised VIP/dining lounge areas, a 30' x 25' soundstage, two large 50 foot back bars and a state-of-the-art live PA sound system designed by JBL, Crown, Allen and Heath, DBX, Denon and Samson.

Downtown caters to a vast variety of audiences, offering entertainment for children, teens, young adults and adults, with shows varying from rock, funk, classic rock, dance, disco and other genres of music, as well as comedy cabarets, shows for children on weekend afternoons and afternoon/evening shows for teenagers. In addition, the establishment hosts parties for Sweet 16s, retirements and other events, and caters seminars.

"As far a venue goes, we're such a cross section of music, supporting local, regional and national talent for all ages and all decades," said David Glicker, Downtown's president and operating partner. "It's interesting from day to day, what we have in the building."

Glicker noted that in addition to welcoming artists that are well known to Long Island, New York State and nationally, Downtown also hosts performances from local talent.

In addition to a variety of musical performances, Downtown offers casual dining to visitors in their dining area and VIP lounge.

Depending on how many events they have booked, Downtown opens at approximately 5 p.m. anywhere from five to seven days a week, with the exception of weekends when they offer earlier shows for children, and remain open until all hours of the morning, generally closing at around 4 a.m.

Glicker said that, for the most part, the Downtown has been well received in the community.

"It's exciting to be here in this town. We're finding that our prices are so competitive," he said, comparing Downtown to similar establishments in Manhattan. "There's New York City quality local, national and regional talent right in people's backyards." He added that the owners hope Downtown's existence will affect other businesses in the area, such as restaurants.

"[We hope] Farmingdale [becomes] a destination for people to go and have dinner, walk about town and go and see some great music. I'm hoping as a venue we impact the restaurants in the town, where somebody can go have a nice meal, comes to see a show here and maybe afterwards go down the block and have a cup of coffee."

Glicker added that residents realize how much money the owners of Downtown, who, in addition to Glicker, who was the founder of the Long Island Brewing Company, include Sam Ash Music CEO Richard Ash, Samson Technologies President Scott Goodman and Stepmarc Music President Stephen Marcuccio, have put into expanding and preparing the location.

"We're tied into real legitimate business people here and obviously we realize we have a responsibility to the community as well," Glicker said.

Realizing that there were some concerns with the Downtown under the previous owners, Glicker said that residents have accepted the new establishment in their community. He noted that soon after the establishment opened, some residents were concerned with the noise coming from the Downtown's elaborate sound system

"There was some volume coming out of our front doors and since we were so busy and the doors were always open, some of the sound escaped through the doors," he said. "Like a good neighbor, being part of the community here, we acted right away," Glicker said. "We were able to add another set of doors so the music didn't escape."

Glicker added that Downtown's presence in the community will surely continue to be a beneficial one, not just to the establishment but to Farmingdale as a whole.

"I think we add some culture to the town, that hopefully will spill into everyone's businesses. I hope that everyone around the neighborhood realizes that we spent a fortune to redo this building," he said. "Most people think we're crazy going into the business that we go into, but because we love music so much and because we're dedicated to entertaining and catering; and because of who we're tied into, as the awning says, it truly is about the music."