Appeal to everyone and put on lots and lots of shows

This is a great article on how a Washington DC club has become one of the best venues in the country.

Five Years of Jamming (and Java): "If you didn't know better, you'd probably drive past Jammin' Java without a thought. Set into one of the many strip malls that line Vienna's Maple Avenue, alongside a credit union, sub shop and Mandarin restaurant, Jammin Java's name recalls a folkie coffee shop in a laid-back college town. It certainly doesn't sound like a venue that concert-industry bible Pollstar called one of the top 100 clubs in the world in terms of ticket sales in 2005 or a concert hall with a top-notch sound system that offers more than a dozen shows a week, including children's entertainers and nationally recognized touring acts....

"'We're all ages, all the time. We're smoke-free. We're a rock club, and we're a listening room [with 170 seats] at the same time. We're accessible. We're in a safe area. We have plenty of parking.'

"...the key to their success is the venue's versatility. Commuters stop in at the coffee bar for mugs of joe at 7 a.m. Later in the morning, the performance space is more "Romper Room" than Viper Room, as bands such as Rocknoceros sing silly songs about washing your hands and brushing your teeth while toddlers jump up and down, dance and clap along.

"...'We have to pay the rent. Early shows, late shows -- I think that's how we got on the Pollstar list. We just do so many shows.'...

"'We try to capitalize on the whole suburbs thing,' Brindley explains. 'There are moms looking for stuff to do with their kids. We'd do a kids' show during the week, in the middle of the afternoon, for free and hope people would come in and buy coffee. And we started getting crowds. Then it went to five days a week -- every morning at 10:30, and it was packed. We decided we'd start charging a cover, and it didn't slow down. It went to three shows on Monday.'..."

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