Rundown Everett Casino Transforming Into Kennelly Keys Music Store

A former casino in south Everett that had been filled with garbage and occupied by squatters over the last year is about to become a state of the art music store. Originally a Red Lobster Restaurant, the property at 7903 Evergreen Way was also once a Freddie’s Club Casino and later became the Iron Horse before closing and falling into disrepair. The property was purchased by Kennelly Keys in July and since then crews have been working hard to clean up the site. They gutted the entire interior and removed all remnants of the restaurant and casino operation.

Owner Bill Kennelly took some time Wednesday from cleaning for a quick interview with MyEverettNews.com. “We prefer to own our properties and invest in the communities where we have our stores,” said Kennelly. “With a lease renewal coming due on our space at Everett Mall Way we were able to find this location and put together a deal to become property owners in Everett.” Kennelly Keys has been around since 1960 and Bill Kennelly took over the business after his father passed away in 1994. As a tribute to his dad there will be a photo of his dad’s band laid into the tile at the entryway to the Everett store.

There are currently five Kennelly Keys stores and the Lynnwood based company also owns American Music in Seattle which caters to professional musicians and rock bands. Kennelly told me they are looking to expand to the north and east but want to be careful with how they grow. “I just want to be proud of the stores I build,” said Kennelly. “People in this area are passionate about music, they believe in music and want their kids involved in music. There’s opportunity in that passion.”

Kennelly hopes to have the new Evergreen Way space open by the 1st of December. It will be three times the size of the current Everett location with several private lesson rooms, group lesson rooms, instrument retail and rental space, sheet music and accessory sales plus instrument repair. He says they offer products and services for beginners to advanced musicians. There will also be some jobs coming to Everett as due to the sheer size of the building, they will need more than just the employees who will be coming from the existing Everett store.