The Jazz Cafe East will be taking over an old theatre on Stratford High Street
The V&A and Sadler’s Wells are already gearing up to open in Stratford and now another London venue is joining them in the move eastwards. The Jazz Cafe, a Camden institution that has welcomed the likes of Gil Scott-Heron, Amy Winehouse, Don Cherry and Lee Scratch Perry, will be turning the art deco Rex Theatre into the Jazz Cafe East after Newham Council accepted a proposal from parent company Columbo Group.
It’s not the first expansion of the Jazz Cafe brand that the Columbo Group (which also runs Phonox, The Old Queen’s Head, Blues Kitchen and The Parakeet) has undertaken – the Jazz Cafe Festival has been running in Burgess Park in Peckham since 2024.
Built in 1896, the Rex operated as a theatre and opera house before being converted into a cinema in 1933, a bingo hall in 1969, and a nightclub. Newham Council repossessed the building in 2013 and it has been mostly vacant since. The Columbo Group will be spending £15 million on the redevelopment, turning the space into a 2,300-capacity live music hall that will open towards the end of 2027. The idea is that the flagship venue will help support Stratford’s development as an “entertainment hub”.
Speaking about the venue, Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “Jazz Cafe East promises to let residents in Newham have world class entertainment on their doorstep. It shows a confidence for the future of the borough, which will bring with it jobs and prosperity. Businesses are waking up to see all that the borough and its people have to offer.”
With Peckham Palais having just reopened as Palais, and this legendary Leytonstone live music venue getting a new lease of life, London’s nightlife is going through a purple patch.
Key Information
Opening date | 2027
Address | 361-375 Stratford High Street, London, E15 4QZ
For more information | thejazzcafe.com
