PM Lounge, as the name suggests, is certainly a place to kick back at night, have a few drinks and listen to music.
But the bar’s owners say the PM actually stands for “Positive Men” — as in the Positive Men’s Organization.
The Ansonia men’s social club, which focuses on raising money for community causes, opened the Main Street bar this fall. The group hopes to use it as a gathering place for its members, and a community hub for social events and fundraisers.
“We have a following. People know who we are,” said Timothy Holman, one of 23 members of the Positive Men’s Organization.
“We wanted to give them a place to come that they felt safe, where they could come with family and friends,” Holman said. “But also enjoy some good, old fashioned R&B, some bands, comedians. And just come out and socialize.”
Positive Men’s Organization
The Positive Men’s Organization was formed several years ago with the goal of “giving back to the community” Holman said.
The men wanted to give Ansonia youth some positive male role models, and support. The group has held fundraisers to donate to the Julian A. Taylor scholarship fund and the Ansonia Community Action Inc.
They have sponsored families for Christmas and Thanksgiving, and sent Ansonia youth to basketball camps, Holman said.
“It’s anything happening in the community that we feel we should be a part of,” said Jimmie Little, the entertainment director for the Positive Men’s Organization.
For example, the Positive Men’s Organization got involved when an Ansonia father organized a march for his murdered son this summer.
“We’ve been doing that for six years. But we’ve always had this idea that we wanted our own place,” Holman said. “We always wanted a place we could call our own.”
The Lounge
So about a year ago, the members started pushing for a club of their own. They scouted out locations, and finally found the a vacant spot on Main Street, where Simbus Cafe used to be.
The group painted the space, bought new furniture and installed flat screen televisions at the bar.
The space has a large dance floor, and room for up to 250 people for a single event. At one end of the lounge is a pool table.
Behind a long wall is a DJ booth, which Little said will get much use. He envisions DJ battles, and said he might even bring back the “Groove Makers,” a DJ duo that was popular in the Valley about 20 years. The “Groove Makers” consisted of Little and his friend, Richard Washington, who now lives in Atlanta.
Other events include birthday parties, a flea market party with items for sale, karaoke every Thursday night and other events.
The group hopes to start serving food soon, once the kitchen gets up and running.
Of the 23 members of the Positive Men’s Organization, seven were named to a committee to operate the business and make the day to day decisions.
The bar open to the public, and Little said they hope to attract lots of different events and people.
“We’ll welcome anyone,” Little said. “All race, creed, color, size, short, tall, bald. We want them all to come in.”
And as far as the name goes, it was just a fluke that the club’s name sounds really cool if you just take the first two letters. So the club went with it — in part to attract people from the general public.
“PM stands for Positive Men,” Holman said. “But you look at the sign, and you’re going to see the moon and the stars and the glasses. So it puts you in the PM mode. You’re thinking night time. Night life.”
“It’s just a play on words, but it worked in our favor,” Holman said.
Details
PM Lounge is located at 232 Main St. in Ansonia.
The hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. It is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.
To contact the lounge, call (203) 734-2844.
The group plans to host a grand opening event on Jan. 28.
