The team behind Sheffield record shop Record Junkee have launched a new city-centre music venue after announcing in December that their shop had become “no longer financially viable to continue”.

Record Junkee had been a fixture of Sheffield’s grassroots scene for more than a decade, hosting hundreds of bands including Fontaines D.C., Idles and Viagra Boys.

Leverton said the closure of that venue had been difficult for the team.

“It was quite gutting,” he said. “We’d been there 10 years and I’ve worked there 10 years myself. I loved the space, everything about it. It was one of the first sort of 150-cap venues in Sheffield and it was great.”

Despite the setback, the organisers moved quickly to establish the new venue, beginning work in January just weeks after the closure announcement and opening the space soon after.

Leverton said the team had taken lessons from the previous venue and hoped to rebuild stronger links with the local music community.

“We want to get on board with more opportunities with locals,” he said. “I think we kind of lost it at one stage, and we’re really trying to bring that back and make it a proper local space.”

He pointed to a growing number of young bands emerging in the city, linked mostly to the arrival of WaterBear College of Music.

“With WaterBear coming into Sheffield now, we’ve seen a really good uptake in young bands,” he said. “There must be 40 or 50 bands aged 16 to 18 who’ve just come out of nowhere.”

Lewis Seal, who plays guitar in Sheffield band Meridian, who are due to perform at the venue, said the project offered an important new platform for emerging artists.

“It’s great to have another venue for smaller bands to play, these spaces are essential for young bands to play live and build a fanbase.”

The venue is expected to host regular gigs featuring local bands, touring artists and community events, continuing Record Junkee’s long-standing focus on grassroots music.