Cameron Village Underground could find new life as jazz club

A former set of nightclubs that once hosted the big-haired bands of the 1970s and 1980s could once again become a venue for live music.

Cameron Village Underground, officially known as the Village Subway, was a subterranean set of nightclubs, restaurants and an arcade under Cameron Village that was one of Raleigh’s most popular hotspots.

In 1984, concerns regarding fire code and customer safety meant the Subway’s days were numbered, but Smedes York, president of York Properties, which manages Cameron Village, said there is a new plan for a jazz club in the subway tunnel underneath the Fresh Market.

York described the proposed venue as a place where people would go after dinner to enjoy some snacks and live jazz music.

York anticipates the artists who play at the venue will be local to the area.

Construction on the space is expected to begin within the next three months, and York said hopes the venue will open sometime in 2019.

Cameron Village Underground reopened for one night only in May 2015. At the time, the Cameron Village Merchants Association said the space would be used for storage following the event.