Former Lefty’s building near Drake could see new music venue tenant

A former Des Moines music venue, Lefty’s Live Music, is set to reopen as Strychnine.
The new operator, Jas Spargur, plans to open late summer with few major changes in the space that also was home to Hairy Mary’s and the Safari Club.
The name Strychnine honors late local musician and sound technician Jimi “Strychnine” Scribner.

Call it the venue that wouldn’t die.

After a 10-year run that ended in late 2025, the former Lefty’s Live Music in the Drake University Dogtown district may soon reopen with a new name.

Jas Spargur recently filed a preliminary permit application with the city of Des Moines for the planned venue at 2307 University Ave. It would be called Strychnine.

“I hope we get another decade out of it, and I hope we get more than that,” Spargur told the Des Moines Register on Monday, June 29.

The 3,278-square-foot Des Moines music scene landmark has had several lives. Depending on who you ask, some remember it as Hairy Mary, a heavy metal club from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Others may recall it as Bagg’s or the Safari Club, where Slipknot played some of its formative shows.

Texas alt-rockers Fastball reminisced about playing at the Safari as they performed on the Des Moines Arts Festival mainstage Saturday, and the walls of the University Avenue venue have seen other big names like the White Stripes and Fugazi.

The venue also was a launching point for local musicians including Spargur, whose first band had its first gig there. Since Hairy Mary helped kickstart Spargur’s 35-year music career, he said he hopes to return the favor as Strychnine’s operator.

“When Lefty’s was open, it was home for so many musicians… and I just wanted to carry on that legacy,” he said.

Lefty’s co-founder Anne Mathey sold the building in December to SRM Holdings LLC, county assessor records show, after announcing the venue’s closure in November. Spargur, who also owns a construction company, said he signed a lease with the building’s new owner and plans to open Strychnine in the late summer.

“I am not doing this to pay bills,” Spargur said. “I am doing this to keep the legend of what that venue means to all of us in the Des Moines music scene, keep it alive and rolling for as long as I possibly can.”

Will anything change at the new venue moving into the former Lefty’s location?

No major renovations are planned for the 350-capacity club, according to the permit filing. But Spargur said he has a “few surprises for the Des Moines music scene” planned and told followers to keep an eye out for updates via the venue’s Facebook account.

“I can’t really spill the beans but people are going to love it,” he said.

Spargur plans to keep the iconic art and murals the venue has collected over its tenure. And he said Strychnine will follow a similar approach to Lefty’s, offering a range of arts and entertainment.

“We’ve got a couple of surprises that we are going to bring in, but as far as the feel of what Lefty’s was, that’s going to remain,” he said.

Where does the name Strychnine come from?

The name “Strychnine” might give off major metal vibes, but Spargur said it’s actually a tribute to the late Jimi Scribner, who went by the name Jimi Strychnine. A chef and musician, he worked as a sound technician at Lefty’s and the long-closed House of Bricks music venue in the East Village.

“He just meant the world to all of us, I guess the older generation of musicians here in Des Moines,” Spargur said. “Jimi was just that guy.”

A wall inside Strychnine will be dedicated in Scribner’s honor, with photos from artists and musicians who worked with him.

Strychnine will join another Dogtown performing arts venue, xBk Live, which opened a few blocks away on 24th Street in 2019.

Kate Kealey is the growth and development reporter for the Register. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X at @Kkealey17.