Knitting Factory NoHo to open by year’s end in renovated room at the Federal Bar

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The Knitting Factory NoHo

For the first time since 2009, there’s a new Knitting Factory in town.

The second-floor, 300-capacity room at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood will rebrand as the Knitting Factory NoHo, with live music and comedy events expected to begin before the end of the year, Knitting Factory Entertainment announced this week.

Veteran talent buyer Chris Diaz, who started his career with the Knitting Factory before going on to book shows for Goldenvoice/AEG at the Roxy Theatre and the Glass House, then as a senior talent buyer for Live Nation (including shows at the Regent Theater), will return to KFE in a consultant’s role for the new venue.

The room at the Federal Bar has long hosted shows since the stylish gastropub opened in 2011, but it is getting a makeover in time for its rechristening. Situated in a remodeled bank building on Lankershim Boulevard that dates to 1926, the space will see the stage widened and raised and its soundsystem substantially upgraded. The new venue will also harbor a classic speakeasy.

The Knitting Factory in Hollywood closed in 2009, but its parent company has kept its tendrils in the hospitality and live entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Knitting Factory Entertainment is a partner in the Regent Theater and the Desert Daze festival, as well as operating bars such as El Tejano, Thirsty Merchant, Cantiki and Boomtown Brewery.

Of the newly branded venue, Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis says: “While this is a more intimate venue then our partner venue, Regent Theatre (1,000 cap), our team plans to bring incredible live experiences for musicians, comedians, artists and fans alike, as our company has been doing for decades. In North Hollywood specifically, we’ve been in the area since the Federal Bar opened with a private performance from jazz legend Stanley Clarke in January 2011, and there is an appetite for more music-based programming as the neighborhood continues to grow into a distinct residential and entertainment district.”