Restaurateur Jody Pennette Opens Live Music Venue Meets "French Dive Bar" Music & Industry in Norwalk

On a short food menu, Music & industry’s Maison smash burger is sure to be popular.

Veteran restaurateur Jody Pennette is no stranger to opening restaurants and bars all over the world, but his latest, Music & Industry in South Norwalk is different from the rest. This one, you see, is his, and his alone.

“This is the 505th one I’ve opened, and it’s the only one I own,” he says. “I’m like a songwriter versus being a singer—I’m creating things for other people to perform. I size them up to see what I can do for them and try to deliver something that’s going to be a market worthy story.”

Local musician, Wendy May, took the stage on a Thursday “jam band night.”

Pennette, who’s been in this business for over 30 years, is no stranger to Norwalk and the surrounding area. Remember China White? How about Lolita? And what about Red Lulu, on the same side of Washington Street as his new spot?

Yeah, all of those and then some. And even though he just opened Music & Industry, he recently finished up at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich, and he’s working on a food hall in Washington D.C., both for other people.

Bartender Nicole Berry can make you just about any libation you desire (with her own twist) behind a centrally located bar where you can order from both sides.

At Music & Industry, Pennette’s doing HIS own thing. He took the former Appetit Bistro, then Los Remolinos space, and performed his specialty, transforming it quickly to fit the bill for a place that’s all about live music, meets dive bar, meets French brasserie. Or something like that.

“I still probably do about 15 projects a year, but we had this office in London for a long time where I got turned onto most of my idea,” he says. “I always have to figure out what someone else might like. A lot of people go to New York, experience places there, and they try to mimic it. I want to find the spirit in that. When it came to this, I said, ‘I’m gonna do what I want to do.’ I like late night, sexy places with loud music.”

Pennette, who’s also a musician, wanted a spot, as he puts it, that has “cool music.” Think along the lines of highlighting original music (Wednesdays), jam nights (Thursdays), and a good amount of punk. There’s also a real possibility of bigger acts from time to time. Pennette then referenced the time he flew Tito & Tarantula—a chicano rock band that Robert Rodriguez featured in From Dusk till Dawn—from Prague to perform at Red Lulu one night.

Now 66, Pennette’s still having fun, and plans to continue doing so personally and with Music & Industry.

“I’m of the era where people my age that I grew up with got really old,” he says. “Right before a meeting, I’m still smoking a joint and listening to Led Zepplin. I just haven’t gotten to that place yet. Every time I start to feel bad about getting old, I’m just thankful that I grew up in a really interesting time. I’d like it if an all-female band would come in here and play Black Sabbath. I want to cut down on all that sound checking, too, because it makes me cringe and makes me cranky.”

Pan seared Atlantic cod

House bread service with cultured butter

Frites pop up on a menu with steak, mussels, the burger, or you can have just the potatoes with homemade dipping sauces that will change up frequently, according to Chef Rait, whose previous stops include The Chelsea, Mezon Tapas Bar & Restaurant, and The Cask Republic Stamford.

Since we’re on pet peeves, Pennette’s other one is this bar/restaurant formula “where the chef is done with you at 10 p.m., then someone comes in and performs Hotel California.”

At Music & Industry, as Pennette puts it, “is for the vampires.” The music cranks, and the kitchen is open until midnight.

To soak up bartender Nicole Berry’s craft cocktails—or an ice-cold Coors Banquet (Pennette blames binge-watching Cobra Kai and Johnny Lawrence for that)—is chef Jacob Rait II’s menu of French classics like steak frites au poivre, duck cassoulet, and beef bourguignon, to name a few.

The rest of the menu is a mix of fancy starters like osetra caviar and super casual fare like poutine and a Maison smash burger—two beef blend patties, raclette cheese, pickles, and one-hour caramelized onions flambéed with cognac.

While Pennette says there is a script for the food menu, he’s cool with Rait owning the role and doing his own thing in that French-ish food space with specials and if the menu should change at all.

As a whole, Music & Industry is a place that Pennette hopes is as cool, fun, and tasty for the public as it is for him, and if it’s not for you on a given night, that’s fine.

“I wanted the outside (sign, logo) to look like a biker bar, but have you be surprised when you walk in,” he says. “I want to dissuade the conventional diner because I don’t have the stomach for that anymore. I’m doing what I like and having a good time. If you don’t want to come in, that’s cool. And if you want to come in and join me, that’s also cool.”

136 Washington Street, Norwalk
203.286.6322, musicandindustry.com