The Blank Club, one of the only music venues downtown to consistently host touring bands, will close this month as owner Corey O’Brien prepares to open a new, larger space on South First Street.

O’Brien, who has operated the Blank Club for the last 12 year, will close its doors on Jan. 31. He plans to open a new venue on the corner of First and East San Salvador streets, formerly the location of the club F/X and Angles. The new venue, which has not yet been named, is scheduled to open in March.

O’Brien said  in an interview with Metro Newspaper that after several years of operating, it was becoming more and more apparent that though the Blank Club offered a wide range of well-known performs it was simply too small  and not welcoming for national touring bands.

“We don’t have what we need here,” O’Brien told Metro. “The stage is too small, there’s nowhere to stage gear, the green room is back behind the bar, upstairs. If we want to do major touring bands, we needed a bigger room. San Jose needs a real, mid-sized club. We don’t have one here.”

O’Brien’s new space has remained empty for the last seven years—the only empty building on the corner of First and East San Salvador—and will continue momentum in the neighborhood, which is also home to music venue Café Stritch, night club Agenda, new restaurant First to Market and the Continental, a new bar that recently opened in the old Brix space.

For those looking to celebrate the end of an area with the closing of the Blank Club, a few more events remain on the venue’s calendar.