Former pub converted into work hub and music venue

A NEW communal workspace, café and entertainment venue is to open in Henley.

The Green Room will be at the former Queen Victoria pub in Market Place behind the town hall.

The building used to house the Watercolour Arts & Play Café, which closed in September after less than two years.

It will be run by Jayson Jaurigue, the owner of music label 8Ray, and will open on Monday, June 12.

The Green Room will be available during the day for people to work or hold meetings and on selected nights it will host live music, entertainment and other events. It has bookable booths, round tables and a conference room as well as wi-fi and charging ports.

Mr Jaurigue, who lives in nearby King’s Road, came up with the idea of a joint workspace during the covid pandemic when he had to give up his company’s offices for financial reasons.

He said: “The team were on furlough and we got through covid and did the best we could.When we came out of covid, our team was back in place but we basically all worked from home or did hybrid working. I worked in local coffee shops and other venues like the Coppa Club and Hart Street Tavern.

“We would meet as a team in but it was really hard to build a culture without an office or a base. There are things you need like a good atmosphere, wi-fi and things.

“We had the idea of creating our own space and Rodney Bennett, a good friend who’s now heading up our events team, came up with the idea of creating a hub where we could have a co-working venue and 8Ray would come in and use it as their office.

“Now there are new ways of working and you can’t expect everyone to come in every day. People want to work at home. With that in mind, an office space is a huge cost for a company and we realised we could turn that into a business.”

The Green Room also has a café offering food and drink run by manager Sam Wilkinson.

Mr Jaurigue, who is known as “JJ”, said: “It’s a co-working café where we can invite the local business community, young entrepreneurs and established business owners to come and work.”

He wants to hold music evenings to support local talent.

Mr Jaurigue, who set up the Eight Ray Music agency in 2011, said: “We are going to have a set calendar of events where we are promoting up and coming acts and people from the label.

“It’s going to be different to what Henley has had before.

“We also want to do immersive experiences like partnering with local gin and wine brands and hold tasting sessions. We’re looking at organising 24 to 30 events this year.

“There’s such a rich art and music scene in this town but I feel that there are not a lot of places for them to go.” He is also interested in hosting educational workshops for people with mental health issues.

He said: “I’m a trustee at Riverside Counselling Service and want to help with that by using this venue to hold workshops for young people.”

The company has received a music licence despite objections from residents over noise concerns.

Mr Jaurigue said: “The objections are absolutely fine.

“I know this town well and wanted to use the hearing as an opportunity for us to explain to the locals what this is about because I think when they fully understand that we’re not just going to be making loads of noise, they will be okay with it.

“We’ve been brought up in Henley, went to school in Henley and we are here to support Henley.”

Mr Wilkinson said: “There are projects and ideas that we have. Something I feel quite passionate about is putting on a first-time dads’ club.”

For more information, email
info@thegreenroomhenley.com