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A chapter of Sacramento’s cultural history comes to a close on Aug. 8. After 40 years of featuring musicians, poets, comedians and visual artists, Luna’s Cafe is closing.
Luna’s Cafe provided an intimate experience for performers and patrons alike since it opened on Aug. 8, 1983. The venue featured a small stage and a dozen or so small cafe tables, and, aside from its rotating wall art, it hadn’t changed much in the last four decades.
Locals say the cafe - and the man behind it, Art Luna - made an inexplicable impact on the Sacramento arts scene.
“There are so many artists in this town that love that place and love Art,” said musician and visual artist Kevin Seconds. “A lot of younger, up-and-coming musicians got their first chance to play on a stage at Luna’s. A lot of places wouldn’t have even bothered. They would have said ‘Nah, build up a following and then come in and talk to me.’”
Creating a welcoming space for established veterans and first-timers was a hallmark of Luna’s. And as people have told him what the cafe has meant to them, Luna said that he’s “starting to get emotional.”
“People are coming out of the woodwork and telling me, ‘Hey, it’s been great, you gave me my first show,’” he said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, we’ve had more of an impact that I’ve actually realized throughout the years.”
The space will continue to be a home for artists after Luna’s Cafe: Silver Lining, a dueling piano bar, is taking over the business and plans to open Oct. 1, and Luna said he’ll be helping out the new owners with booking.