Richmond’s rowdy Rockit Room rebrands

Like an ex-convict or lady of the night, one Richmond District bar is perhaps trying to shed its unsavory past with a name change.

As of Saturday, Dec. 1, the Rockit Room is now called — drumroll, please — Neck of the Woods.

This past year, the bar/music venue at 406 Clement began making headlines for all the wrong reasons. It started in February when police made three arrests in one night, including the headlining act for driving a stolen car.

The next month, a crowd of more than 100 people spilled out of the club in a brawl at 1:30 a.m.

With more than 21 incidents involving fights to noise complaints since October 2011, the Entertainment Commission gave the venue an ultimatum in March: Get your act together or face closure.

At its lowest point, Police Permit Officer Tobius Moore had two officers posted at the bar around closing time:

“It’s a huge burden. [The officers] can be doing police work, answering call and self-initiated policing as well, and instead they have to sit and babysit. It’s ridiculous.”

With all the bad publicity, it’s hard to believe the venue once saw the likes of John Lee Hooker and Etta James.

But here’s to a brighter future, Rockit Room. We’ll see you in your Neck of the Woods.