Beginning in November, Legend’s brings live music to top of Campustown

Tyler Kingkade

A new party will be rumbling the seventh floor of the Legacy Towers on Friday nights, and it’s not another kegger. Legend’s American Grill, 119 Stanton Ave., plans to bring in local live music on weekends to its upstairs bar, The Skybox.

“When I first came here four years ago, we had it every Friday,” said Tony Faro, manager of Legend’s. “It went away because it was hard without a promoter to go out and schedule the bands.”

Faro said, with someone taking that job today and realizing there would be no sound issues, this Friday, Nov. 6, will be the first time they push aside some tables for live shows.

“We feel like this will be our niche,” he said. “We keep our kitchen open serving food until 2 a.m., so we can have people 18 and up in here. We wanted to add another item to the restaurant and we considered karaoke, but live music is so much better.”

The Skybox in Legend’s already has pool tables, dart boards foosball and can fit a capacity of 100 people. At first, it’s aiming for two live shows per month, but said if things go well it’d quickly increase to once a week — if it can find enough bands.

Faro says they aren’t looking to bring in touring bands, or even bands based in Des Moines, unless they had friends in Ames. The focus will be on local groups and giving college kids a place to play.

He explains that Legend’s in Ames is the first franchise of the restaurants and makes it unique among its Polk County brothers.

Legend’s is not worried about competition with the bars seven stories below, repeating that it is carving out its own niche as a new bar.

Faro says their food specials, ads in newspapers and on radio, as well as the kids in the building, will ensure solid turnouts.

“Campustown needs something,” he says.

Keno is scheduled to be the first band, performing Friday.