Hot on the heels of the announcement that a new music venue will soon inhabit the former Wilson's Soul Food space comes the news that another new business, Green Room, will soon open in the 175 N. Lumpkin Street location formerly occupied by El Centro (and, for a short time after that, The Hangover Bar).

The intimate watering hole and music venue is a project of Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Greene (pictured above, at the 2011 Flagpole Athens Music Awards), and will open for business "in a few weeks," according to Greene.

The space has been fully renovated, he says.

"It's a great spot with a cool horseshoe bar, but it's been a little rough for the past few years… We cleaned the place up real well, installed new flooring and plumbing and all. We built a little stage so we can have shows there. It will be loungy and comfortable and inexpensive, with couches and quirky furniture."

And while bands will indeed perform on the newly built stage, Greene says he'll be taking it slow.

"As far as shows, we plan on just seeing how it goes and what works. It will be nice to have a smaller room to book bands in, but we want to focus on the drinks and the atmosphere first."

Still, "It will be music themed," he says. "Show posters, black walls, signature cocktails, some TVs showing concert DVDs—that kind of stuff. We will not open the second story, that space will be used for office space, to help us grow our businesses."

More promising news for downtown Athens, and for local music lovers. We'll keep you updated with details as they arrive.