Cadillac Ranch takes chance on former Music Mill space

North-siders will finally get a shot at riding a Cadillac Ranch mechanical bull, without driving to Union Station. The restaurant, bar and nightclub chain plans to open a new location in the former Music Mill restaurant and concert venue, at 3720 E. 82nd St.

Cadillac Ranch Group, which also owns downtown's Bartini's, has begun renovating the 15,000-square-foot building. Several owners had tried and failed to keep The Music Mill alive. The unique concept opened in early 2005 in a former Discovery Zone children's amusement center. The venue went out of business twice in 2009, only to reopen with new owners. It shut down for good in December 2010. Locally based Broadbent Co. had listed the building as available for sale or lease, though the subsidiary that owned the building filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010.

The corridor has enjoyed a burst of leasing activity lately: The nearby Rivers Edge shopping center is getting a new Nordstrom Rack, Container Store and BuyBuy Baby, along with a new location for restaurant Harry & Izzy’s, and a Florida company is planning an amusement center with a bowling alley, concert hall and restaurant in the former home of the AMC Clearwater movie theater at 82nd Street and Dean Road.