HISTORY
The Boom Boom Room is the story of struggle, a story of triumph, a story of beauty, love, passion, art, and the tale of a group of people with a vision and a dream, overcoming the odds to make their dreams come true.
It all started with Jim, 2006-2008? (the owner with his wife Brandy AKA Boom Boom Le Coeur) who watched movies like Roger Rabbit, and The Mask, where he saw places on TV where people in the past would sit at a table, be served drinks, and dinner while watching a show. This sparked the first seed of an idea. I want to experience that. I want to be swept away to another time, escape from the challenges of the week, I believe other people do too.
However, he had never opened a restaurant, nightclub, bar, or variety show. So it was a dream and a seed of an idea that grew in his head for many many years. Until one day he decided to take action and look for spaces to lease. This took about 4-5 years of work. Looking for partners, investors but no one could understand the concept. Truth be told, he had no experience. During that time he met Brandy, his now wife and business partner, and together at that time, the interracial couple with a love that defies the laws of the universe, worked together to open a place, no partners, no investors, just the pocket change they had.
In 2011, they opened and called it The Jumpin' Jupiter. When it opened, it had so much social impact. No one had ever done something like this before, in St. Louis (since 1920 or so). That first year, it made so much press and impact in the area. It was very exciting. However, with any new innovative idea, there were just as many people who loved it, who were hateful and jealous. They had not prepared for that part. But after the first year, admittedly, with no experience, they had a ton of customers but made many mistakes. And like a dramatic episode from Bar Rescue, the bills piled up, people quit, talent walked out, vendors were upset, and stress levels rose. When things are good, everyone is there to tell you how great you are, but when things go bad, everyone is there to tell you how terrible you are, and what you should have done, they jump ship like rats, and your best friends slander you on social media. It was humiliating. The talent not only walked out but had been working at a nightclub of their own, so went off a social media slander campaign to kill the competition. They lost every employee too. It was just Jim, Brandy and the dream. And Jon Taffer was nowhere to be found to bail them out. It was a very dark time. They could not open their doors, for two months.
But they did not let the challenges stop them. Brandy said, I will dance and became Boom Boom LeCoeur when the chef left, Jim said, "I will learn how to cook and I will run sound and lights. " They decided no more managers, they will run and design every single system and process from the ground up.
New rules were made like, no more mean negative people. They searched the St. Louis area, and found some talent that would work for them in the area, LuLu La Toosh, Miguel Scott, and Dahlia Delight were their first cast members. And they found some people with no experience and trained them. Then they rebuilt a menu, changed pricing, changed how the show was experienced, and when people said, you can't do it, they just smiled and thought happy thoughts. It was a hopeful but very hard year. During this time, they developed a formula that made people happy. Crowds increased, people started getting paid back, more talent was drawn to the show. They learned a valuable lesson. When things seem dark, smile, be positive, and imagine how your life how you want it not how it is, and surround yourself with good-hearted positive people.
That year, things got better, but not fast enough, and never enough to pay $10,000 in monthly rent, and they were forced to close losing everything they had worked years for. Cars were taken, the heat was turned off, they purchased groceries with change around the house. It was hard. However, they knew they had a formula that works, but not a dime to their name. They did not let that affect their spirits, and they held on to their dream and moved on.
They loved performing so, they went to other bars and theaters and performed for ticket sales as The Jumpin' Jupiter Roadshow. During this time they discovered the talents of, Lady Manhattan, and Lolita Love. For three long years, while they had the dream to reopen a new venue, with all they had learned, after all the mistakes they had to make, they saved and worked, and worked and saved. They bought lights, sound, kitchen equipment and stored it away so they would own everything next time around.
Because of the past, it was hard to find someone who was willing to believe in the dream and lease to them. It was hard for the landlords to understand, we failed, but NOW we know how to fix it. So they kept trying until they met Ben. As luck would have it, his wife had the best time of her life at The Jumpin' Jupiter. So they believed in the vision and allowed them to lease space in the building.
But that was step one. They had to get the signatures of the neighbors for their liquor licenses. It was not easy, trying to explain to the neighbors, that a burlesque club is not a strip club. But they finally did it, through luck and charm, and started construction in April 2015.
Brandy and Jim did all of the construction themselves. Except for the really big stuff like electrical and plumbing, but the design, the stage, they even drove to Kansas City in a box truck that would only go 50 mph, to pick up the ice machine and the church pews that were 15 dollars. They bought inexpensive used fixtures from Craigslist and used Pinterest to make something from nothing. For six months, 12-15 hour days, 7 days a week, the went to Home Depot, then refinish floors, built the bar, hung things from the ceiling and so much more.
Then in October of 2015, they were ready to open. They were so busy working and doing construction, that they did not have time to promote the place. They were scared to death. Five years of their life, hardly any money to start the business, about $50 in the bank, exhausted from six hard months of building, they had no idea if anyone would show up, or if anyone knew about the place.
As they stood in the empty bar that day, they knew one thing, the thing that had kept them going through the hard and darkest times. People need this. More than ever in any other time people need a place like this. A place where, after a hard week of work, after being yelled at by the kids, and the boss all week, hearing about all the crazy things that happen in the world, after all of life's challenges, they needed a place, where they could not see the news, escape to a faraway place, be pampered by the servers, be treated with dignity by the doorman, a place where a drink was served at a fair price, and was delivered to them in their candlelit table, a place where all their friends and family could reserve a table, a place where their belly would be filled with quality food, a place where they could reboot, relax, regroup, feel special again, a place where, age, race, religion, boundaries, and sexual preference, and social status was not an application for the value of service you received. A place where whatever you are celebrating in life, we are celebrating it with you. And with that mission statement, and that belief and conviction, they opened the doors to the Boom Boom Room, a place where everyone is beautiful. They and their performance family waited nervously for the customers.
The doors opened, and it was like the Police song Message In Bottle or the closing scene from It's Wonderful Life. The people just started coming, and coming, and coming, and calling, buying tickets, showing up, a few at first then more and more. We built it on a dream and a prayer, and they DID come. They said, thank you for opening, St. Louis needs this, I was at the Jumpin Jupiter and we loved it, we are so happy you are back, I want to celebrate my anniversary here, my birthday, thank you the show was amazing, you made 50 years with my husband special then it was five stars on yelp, Facebook, google, People started visiting from literally all over the world, with compliments. The news started doing articles, The Cast Of Wicked got a table for NYE, lives were touched audience smiled, and people were happy.
Now their rainbow tribe of beautiful performers entertains people from all cultures, from all over the world from all ages, and all walks of life. And every weekend night, that beautiful audience claps, drinks, laughs, eats, cheers, and celebrates life together escaping and releasing life's burdens at no other than, The World Famous Boom Boom Room
This location lasted until March of 2020. And we all know what happened. Where many did not make it though the times, though miracles, one after the other, being put in the right place at the right time, we were able to stay open and do what we love. But how can a company stay open for two years, pay rent, and stay in business? You either need to be rich, or you need a miracle. We prayed for the miracle. This miracle started way before they shut us and so many other good people’s businesses down.
One morning, they woke up and went out for coffee. It was Brandies birthday. October 20th, 2019. They never locked the door to their Loft, however on this day, oddly, when they returned, the door was mysteriously locked, and they had no key to get in. They called a locksmith, who took over an hour to show up. So they went back to the coffee shop and sat outside. As Jim looked down the street, he saw a for lease sign he had seen hundreds of times. Something was different. The front seemed to glow somehow. Jim, following his instinct, walked over and asked Brandy to look in. It was huge. It was big enough to move their venue in and put a restaurant in the front. But it was so big. How could they afford it? Would they even want them? Their venue shows were sold out, and they needed to expand. They looked at the lease sign and recognized the name. It was Jim's nephew, Robert Authur Busch, but he called him Bob. Bob was a commercial leasing agent, and he remembers Bob told him he would represent the building on Washington.
Jim called Bob. As family members went, they were very close. Bob was the first son of Jims' oldest sister. Bob was unsure if the landlords would go for it but said he would call and see what they had to say. Two hours went by, they got in the house, and they thought it was a no-go, which is why he did not call back. The phone rang. Bob told them that the landlords were very excited to talk. They had a very long conversation and, in fact, were going to ask if Jim and Brandy were interested in moving to that location. Being a Mom and Pop shop, they needed help, like time, because they designed and built everything themselves.
It took three months of creative problem-solving to make the lease work for both parties. It almost fell through a few times. But, without Bob, they never would have been able to bridge the gap and create the solutions of what they both needed to make the lease happen.
They soon started their DIY design, planning, and construction as soon as they did. All was going well from December 2019 until March 2020. Jim built all day, Brandy ran the venue. Then, we all remember what happened. The entire world shut down. The officials closed all restaurants, bars, venues, shows, gathering spaces, and anything that was not critical. Personally, Jim & Brandy felt people meeting with people was important and vital, but fate had other plans. It was depressing as it felt like this would be the end of their business. As the lockdowns continued, they waited. They used the time to create a Merch line hoping they would reopen at www.thebombshell.shop. It kept their minds busy, but they had to choose to stay in their current location or move to the larger room. They decided it would be better to move everything down two blocks to the new space and close the old leased space as the five-year lease had ended anyway. They had no income except small unemployment checks; they were not enough to cover the business. So they dismantled the entire venue and hand-pushed, pulled, and carried everything down the street. People stared as they pushed boxes, shelves, ovens, speakers, boxes of liquor, and all sorts of items. They could not afford a truck.
Then, St. Louis cut the hours of operation of all businesses. That made it impossible to open. Then they shut down the streets in front of the location. There were many times they had a hard time believing. National news turned dark, people started to loot and protest their streets and all over the country. Not once but several times. They had to board up the windows three times. Then, one by one, other restaurants closed permanently. These were people they knew, places they loved. Huge theater groups and huge national chains folder.
They asked themselves, how can we ever open if huge restaurant chains are closing? But, then, the husband stumbles on a Martin Luther King Quote one morning at their lowest. He felt at that moment as if it had been sent to him.
“If you can't fly, then run,
if you can't run then walk,
if you can't walk then crawl,
but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
That statement spoke to them and was powerful because they felt utterly crippled by the situation. So, they crawled forward without the option to fly, run, or even walk. Everything changed with that decision backed with intent and action on that day. So instead of emotionally hiding in the corner and feeling sad, they decided to speak the truth in advance. So in front of a closed down street, where all the business had left, no one was allowed to gather, no one was around, like a ghost town in a world that was closed down, they emotionally crawled with every ounce of faith and strength they could gather. They went to the storage locker, got the massive 12-foot by 12-foot sign from opening the venue in 2015, and spent the day hanging it over the front of the building, with lights, music, and a digital signage TV. The banner said, coming soon, now opening and the World Famous... They were telling themselves and the world, we are not going anywhere. We are here, alive, and as long as we are, we will not quit; we will keep moving forward. From then on, they only played positive affirmations, listened to uplifting things, exercised, and tried to avoid the news.
Jim & Brandy assumed the Pandemic would end after a few months, but as everyone remembers, it didn't. It went on for over a year and a half. Brandy & Jim needed the Pandemic to stabilize, the occupancy restrictions to be removed, the 6 feet of separation rule to go away, indoor seating to be possible, to be able to be open past 11:00pm, the city officials closed the street they needed them to be unrestricted, and the world to be safe, for their business to be able to open. A lot was standing in the way.
Every few months, it would seem like there was light at the end of the tunnel. They first planned to open on Jim's Birthday in August 2020, but it couldn't happen, so they just kept moving forward, not knowing a year from then things would be very different.
The next opening date they hoped for was Halloween, 2020. However, when it was apparent that it would be impossible, they decided to do a Thriller Flash Mob on the street in Washington instead of being sad. It was like a flower on a battlefield. It was a small glimmer of hope. People told them this helped them because seeing them believe has helped me think one day this will pass.
It should be noted that after the first few months, all of the performers rehearsed every week. With hot masks and awkwardly distanced, every single week for the entire shutdown, simply because they love what they do so much. Because of this, Jim and Brandy built what they called the "dream" dressing room for girls with makeup stations, cabinets, a bathroom, custom storage, a bar, a spot for food catering, and pink everywhere.
They felt that they would open by the New Year, so they started to plan for that date. In early December, when it would have been time to advertise, they asked people on social media what they thought. This was before the Vaccine. People said people were still sick, sent photos of dying relatives, and told stories of others in the hospital they loved. Jim and Brandy were told that if they opened, people would come and make money; however, the events would create super spreader events weekly. "Please, please do not do this, please wait, I beg you." one person even wrote. It was a heartbreaking choice; they were very, very low on savings. The money they would need to open would not be there in a few months because they would need it to simply live. So, they needed to open now or what seemed like never. It was not about profit; they needed food on the table. However, they decided to wait and not open till some other time because no amount of money is worth one human life. And it was hard. VERY hard. But, they had faith that taking the high road would pay off. At this time, they had no idea that this one profound decision changed the course of their history.
The year ended, and 2021 came uneventfully. A whole year had gone by since Jim and Brandy signed the lease. They knew there was a time to plant and a time to harvest. Now was the time to plant in the form of building and creating. But unfortunately, their bank account was slowly trickling to nothing. So with no money coming in and living off the money that had been set aside to open, they applied for a venue grant, in a hail-mary, end of the game kind-of-way and forgot about it as the government was prolonged.
They would spend 6 days a week building, working, creating, away from the world. They spent the year and a half DIY construction the room and hand creating the eclectic elements of decore. The more complex the times got, the more they put their emotional energy into creativity. They got up together, worked out together, walked to the venue together, worked all day together, went to bed together, and repeated that over and over again. People were not supposed to visit each other to see each other. So they had lost contact with a lot of friends and family members. Like Bob, Jim's nephew...
Ya' see, everyone did what they needed to do to survive the lockdown. And some did better than others. Some got quiet, some worked harder, some yelled and screamed, got mad, some did better emotionally than others, and for the ones who did bad, they did really bad. So people lost friends, family members, jobs, businesses that were 3 and 5 generations old, careers, houses; it was a mess.
Not everyone who died because of COVID died of COVID. The lockdown hurt Bob more than most people. He lived alone but had tons of people who loved him. He would meet with them in "gathering spaces" like we were trying to build. They would get together, drink, laugh, watch games, catch up in places filled with people. When the lockdowns happened, he lost his job and was left home alone. That caused stress that caused more stress and more stress. That anxiety manifested itself physically as a major near-death seizure. It destroyed his body, he lost a ton of weight, and his mind was not clear and now the stress compounded as he tried to work, but his mind was just broken. Till one day, Rober Auther Busch passed away at only 40 something years old in his home, crawling on the floor, trying to reach for the door handle, trying to get help from people who may have been walking by. No one was there to save him. He was a triathlete, and his brain tested off the charts, but no one is built to take on isolation. No one should be alone. People should be with people.
For Jim & Brandy, that was a blow that was too hard to handle. Work stopped for the funeral and sometime after. He was the one that got them this space. The guilt set in. It was Jim; he wanted to quit. He did, for a while. He couldn't remember why they were doing this in the first place. Was this even worth it?
Then, there was something in his head. It was this word gathering space. Bob was alone and not able to gather. He died without help because there were no people. What do people do at a gathering space? It may seem like a stretch to connect this metaphor, but in dark times you look for inspiration where you can find it. It gave them the strength and move on. They knew that he would want this to happen. Bob secured our lease so Jim and Brandy could increase the size of their venue, The Boom Boom Room, and create a gathering space, The Bombshell Restaurant, And Lounge.
Because of this, for the next project, they spent over a month building the physical bar in The Bombshell and dedicated it to him, even naming it after him. When it was done, they called it, The Robert Arthur. Typed up the dedication and laid it in the epoxy covering on the bar top. So if you see that bar, it is "The Robert Arthur."
It was June, and they felt like they had experienced every challenge possible by this time. The important thing that happened in the process was learning to enjoy life and appreciate what you have, even when it feels like you are losing everything.
In that summer, every dollar they had was gone. Jim tried to charge 8 dollars online for some food, but it declined. They had eaten the leftover food supply from the previous location. The world was opening up. They needed money to open. You have to buy liquor, pay permits, and have money for employees. It was a tough two weeks.
An email came in that gave them a fantastic realization. It was like everything that had happened in this entire experience had happened for a reason. It was a miracle. It felt like Bob pulled some strings upstairs.
They remembered all the way back to the beginning and realized this. If they had not been locked out of the house on Brandies birthday, if that place they had walked by for years did not somehow seem to sparkle, they would not have this new space. If they did not have this new space, their things would be in boxes in a storage unit, or they would have tried to open at the old space and failed like so many others. But, because they had this space they were able to build. Because they walked forward in faith and created every day instead of waiting, they had a venue they could take photos of and show people. Because of all these things that happened, they could send those photos along with the venue grant application.
The email they received said they were awarded the venue grant because to qualify, you had to have a venue, and that venue had to exist and needed to be closed, not open. Then they realized that had they opened on New Year's Eve, they would have struggled and closed down in the prevaccine environment, which took longer than people thought. So by taking the high road to save others, they had saved themselves. It was a substantial amount of money with rules that needed to be used on the venue. That morning they had $1.87 in their bank account. That night, they ate Steak at 801 Chophouse and drank way too many martinis. Then Jim and Brandy made a plan to create the most amazing place they could dream of, where the front was a restaurant and lounge, they decided to develop that merch shop they always wanted that was also an online shop, music would be played on their own radio station that they custom-designed, they would install a live streaming system to broadcast shows around the world, they would give dance lessons in a school they create for fun and confidence-building.
The first thing the couple did was hire someone to build a giant wall 18-foot wall to divide the space. Now they could open the venue called The Boom Boom Room but also the gathering space in the front. They named it "The Bombshell Restaurant And Lounge" after the performers, The Boom Boom Bombshells, who had spent the year keeping their skills up and reminding people to believe in themselves.
Then, about a month later, there was a water main break in the back alley. It flooded every basement of every building on the block. It knocked out the entire electrical system in the whole building and city block. The landlord had to do millions of dollars of repairs in the basement over the next two months. Their space was not harmed, except they had no electricity to work for a month in A Saint Louis summer with no air-conditioning. They did not care, of course. At this point, they put flashlights on their heads and "ran" forward toward the finish line. Time for a new opening date. What is the next important date coming up? It was Jim's birthday in August. They did not realize at the time that this was the very first and would now be the final opening day they picked, and it was well placed on a Saturday.
They got more lights n sound, walls, replaced broken appliances, and construction help. For ten years, they ran everything themselves, but now, they could hire REAL managers and put them on GOOD salaries to attract the best, GM, and Chef. They hired the leader and choreographer of the Bombshells, who had basically been volunteering her teaching services to the group. She was working two other jobs, and now, she was able to put her complete focus into her dream job.
They had such a good deal for employees, while others were having trouble attracting employees, they had a waiting list. So they hired a marketing team and could buy fun things like pretty tables, drink towers, and lots of fun merch for the front Merch area. All of these ideas were things that had been talked about, dreamed about for years. Now it was happening.
The venue opened and sold out the opening weekend in 24-hours with one Facebook post. They posted the following weekend, it sold out. So they increased from 2 to 4 shows per weekend. They kept selling out. They built it, and they did come, and more came, and even more still. The Merchandise area sells all sorts of things all weekend long. They started the internet streaming service for BombshellTV.com with a $30,000, 6-camera, 4k production system. It has been a very long road, from a crawl to walk, to run, and now they are ready to fly. And now, as we write this, they are prepared for the next step. To open The Bombshell.
This is how the Bombshell Restaurant & Lounge was created. Now, ladies and gentlemen, they proudly present to you, The Bombshell Restaurant And Lounge, built from faith, love, and forged in the pinnacle of human trial.
2023 Update: Is is still amazing and we are living our dream.
And they performed happily ever after. http://www.theboomboomroomstl.com