Inside the Former Home of FilmBar at 815 N. Second St.
Downtown Phoenix welcomed a fresh addition to its nightlife landscape this weekend as Roosevelt opened its doors inside the former home of FilmBar at 815 N. Second St. Operating as a listening-focused bar, club, and restaurant, the 4,000-square-foot venue is designed to merge high-end acoustics with community-driven programming.
According to Phoenix New Times, the nightlife concept is spearheaded by a notable collective of local industry veterans. The team includes Relentless Beats electronic dance music promoter Thomas Turner, Phoenix nightlife veteran Steve Kushnir, Ocotillo owner and chef Walter Sterling, nightclub lighting designer Stephen Lieberman, and longtime Arizona house music DJ Michael Hooker. They spent two years transforming the space into a venue tailored specifically for pristine sound reproduction.
A Rare Funktion-One Sound System Tailored for Arizona
At the architectural heart of Roosevelt is a rare audio setup.
The venue boasts the only Funktion-One sound system installed inside an Arizona nightclub, accompanied by custom studio-grade acoustic treatments distributed throughout the room. Turner noted that the configuration allows the venue to project clear, high-fidelity sound at any volume without forcing guests to shout over the music.
“It’s kind of overkill but in a really good way,” Hooker explained to Phoenix New Times regarding the audio engineering.
Balancing High-Intensity Dance Nights With Intimate Weekdays
Rather than operating purely as a high-intensity dance club every night of the week, the venue intends to pivot its calendar based on the community’s appetite.
Weekend programming leans into a broad spectrum of upbeat house music. Weekday schedules are designed to host intimate funk, soul, jazz, and disco sessions.
Resurrecting the Lost Art of Full-Album Vinyl Sessions
Honoring the property’s legacy as FilmBar, Roosevelt’s weekly calendar also incorporates film screenings and dedicated vinyl listening sessions.
Hooker is collaborating with Konstadinos “DJ Cocoe” Tsimahidis, owner of Grand Avenue Records in Phoenix, to curate these album-focused nights. The goal is to resurrect the lost art of listening to a full record from start to finish within a dedicated acoustic space.
Restaurant-Quality Dining Anchored by Chef Walter Sterling
Chef Walter Sterling anchors the culinary side of the operation, integrating restaurant-quality dining into a nightlife venue.
Turner emphasizes that the project is built to let the neighborhood dictate its ultimate rhythm.
