Sudsy Malone's Rock 'n Roll Laundry & Bar was a music venue and dive bar in the Corryville neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, across the street from Bogart's near the University of Cincinnati. The site often showcased many indie music and punk music bands, with several going on to become major acts after playing there.
- Venue
- Sudsy Malone's Rock 'n Roll Laundry & Bar
- Town
- Cincinnati, US
Sudsy Malone's Rock 'n Roll Laundry & Bar was a music venue and dive bar in the Corryville neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, across the street from Bogart's near the University of Cincinnati. The site often showcased many indie music and punk music bands, with several going on to become major acts after playing there. As the name suggests, the bar also housed a laundromat in back, and a load of laundry stood in for the cover charge on music nights. Sudsy's experienced some financial difficulties during its existence, closing and reopening several times before shutting down for good in 2008. Sudsy's was founded in 1986 by John Cioffi and partner Michael Sharp, influenced by similar businesses opening up in the region. According to former managing partner, Janine Walz, a notable example was Dungarees in Columbus, OH which had a small refreshment bar that served beer while patrons waited for their laundry to finish. Cioffi envisioned a full-service bar to complement the laundry area, but not the sound stage for live music. A few months after opening, a local band called The Thangs, who were struggling to find a venue that would have them, approached Sudsy's and were accepted. The first show unexpectedly attracted a crowd of 100, and the bar ran out of beer as normal patronage to that point rarely exceeded 10. Cioffi invited them back the next night, and eventually every weekend, with the band recruiting their friends to play openers for them. Shortly thereafter, live music became a fixture, with only a small cover charge to pay the band for their performances. That amount was raised to $5 by 1987, which was waived for patrons toting a full load of laundry. Crowds continued to grow, becoming so large that it exceeded its stated capacity, prompting intervention from the fire department. Performances were halted for a short time to bring the building up to code. By the early 2000s the business was experiencing financial difficulties due a declining laundry business, its r