What happens if you can’t find a  cozy, comfortable venue for live music — one where smaller acts can perform in front of a welcoming crowd? Well, if you’re Laura Mann, you just create a venue yourself.

The Living Room @ 35 East, opening Saturday, is located a few doors down from the relatively new Ardmore Music Hall – originally called 23 East, the legendary stomping grounds of the Hooters. “There are no more hotdogs to be found,” she says, laughing, when we bring up the wieners once sold in front of 23 East after concerts. Instead — as part of Ardmore’s main drag — there are new spots such as Pala’s Latin American and Iron Hill Brewery to go with Mann’s own Living Room.  “Ardmore is creating its own vibe with great new restaurants and live entertainment throughout the week. It’s nice to see,” writes A.D. Amorosi for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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When it comes to curating the Living Room, the job is all hers, from Feb. 24’s opening night Americana-focused headliner Scott McClatchy to a show featuring her writing partner Dan Navarro, who penned Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” and performs voice-overs for animated series such as Family Guy (April 6). She is also screening films (Jay Schwartz’s long-running Secret Cinema series will be there May 26) and hosting comedy nights, poetry readings, and small theater events. During the day, the BYOB Living Room will be a café with all its sipping and noshing accoutrements and offer a schedule of music lessons.

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