Joyland, country music and dancing destination, announces move to new spot in Manatee 

Much like a rowdy line dance, the years have brought ups and downs and turnarounds for Joyland Country Music Night Club.

Now another chapter in the club’s history is about to begin as it moves to a new location in Manatee County, according to an announcement from Joyland’s management on Thursday.

Since 1994, the venue has made its home in a 15,000-square foot dance hall on 14th Street West in Bradenton.

Joyland’s new address is yet-to-be announced, but the venue will now be located on Lockwood Ridge Road, directly north of University Parkway, a post on the club’s Facebook page said.

While still in Manatee County, the change brings Joyland much closer to Sarasota, which has long been a part of the venue’s target audience.

The new location will also add a full kitchen, according to Joyland’s update, with casual dining during the early hours and a late-night menu until 2 a.m.

“Our goal throughout this process is to maintain the Joyland Country heritage and community we have all come to know and love, but also update the business to be more intimate and diverse,” the venue’s post reads. “Our new location is being remodeled to maintain the Joyland sound and feel, but with a new, clean, modern yet rustic vibe, like clubs on Broadway in Nashville.”

The post said that there is no projected opening date yet, but teased mid-2021 as a possibility.

Joyland, first opened in 1958 in Pinellas Park, eventually moved to Bradenton, then relocated twice more in the area before settling at its most recent spot at 5520 14th St. W., Bradenton.

2018 brought the news that Joyland’s owner of more than three decades, Rick Lambert, was retiring and that the venue would close.

Only months later, however, two local country musicians, Scott Serbin and Peter Mendelsohn, worked out a deal to buy the property and reopen the music club with some guidance from the former owner.

The pair were in the process of revitalizing Joyland with better sound equipment and new events, and even branching out into some other varieties of live music, when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Like other local bars and venues, Joyland was forced to close for the first time due to COVID-19 in March 2020. It then reopened briefly several times before closing down again in June. The venue announced that a move was in the works in August.

Joyland’s Facebook post thanked Manatee County zoning, building and fire staff for making the move possible.

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 4:40 PM.