Certain corners of Athens are abuzz with the recent news that two new music venues will open soon downtown.

A restaurant, bar and music venue called The World Famous is currently being constructed in the former Wilson's Soul Food space at 351 N. Hull St., on the ever-hip western edge of downtown. The business is a co-venture between local musician and Normal Bar honcho Bain Mattox and Flagpole contributor David Eduardo, both of whom conceived of The World Famous as a more intimate and slightly classier alternative to existing downtown venues.

Mattox says the music venue portion of the space will seat 60–80 people. "We are bringing in a bunch of great national and regional acts: bands, singer songwriters [and] duos. We are also talking to a bunch of local acts and putting together unbelievable bills," he says.

The next room over, separated by a soundproof wall, will house the bar and restaurant, which will feature "fantastic cocktails, [an] amazing beer selection and fine and affordable wines," according to Mattox. "Behind that is our Austin, TX food cart-style kitchen, serving up a simple menu that includes chicken and waffles and soft pretzels."

"I'm excited about setting up shop in the west end of downtown Athens," says Eduardo. "It's my favorite neighborhood, anywhere. Wilson's was the first restaurant I ate at when I moved to Athens 12 years ago. It'll be nice to breathe some life back into the space."

Owners hope to open for business by February 2013.

Meanwhile, hot on the heels of that announcement comes the news that another new nightspot, Green Room, will soon open at the 175 N. Lumpkin St. location formerly occupied by El Centro (and for a short, ill-fated time after that by The Hangover Bar). The intimate watering hole and music venue is a project of Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Greene, 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 slowly, at least initially.

"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."

We'll post updates on both venues on Flagpole.com as we get them.