Red Palace opening delayed until at least early November

Red Palace, the new H Street bar due to take the place of The Red & the Black and Palace of Wonders, will not open until at least early November. The live music venue, part of the Joe Englert-owned, Steve Lambert-booked local music empire, was set to open on Oct. 15 but was delayed due to "licensing difficulties." Now, all shows scheduled through Nov. 5 have been canceled.

This, of course, comes on the heels of the tragic situation involving sister venue DC9. Bill Spieler, a co-owner of DC9 and one of the five club employees charged with aggravated assault in last week's incident at the club, is one of the partners in Red Palace. Englert says the Palace's delay in opening is completely unrelated.

"We're continuing to work on construction" related to merging the two spaces, Englert says. Because construction hasn't been finished, the new venue hasn't been inspected and certified as safe by various city agencies. Factoring in construction delays and red tape, Englert says, he thinks Red Palace will welcome its first bands and sideshow acts "hopefully within a month."

-- David Malitz and Fritz Hahn