cirivellos1 A guy in a ball cap and a stretched-to-the-max jersey with his belly up to the bar was staring at a hi-def TV and making small talk with his virtual clone between bites and sips of the lunch special: business as usual for a Thursday afternoon at Cirivello’s.

But Friday will be another day—or, more to the point, another night—at the venerable sports stop, which at 10:30 p.m. will make its debut as a music venue.

“We’re trying something new,” said Cheryl Neswick, events manager for Cirivello’s, which has been catering to sports fans and recreation-league players for decades. “The economy makes this a difficult time for restaurants, and we’re hoping this introduces us to a new type of customer.”

The opening-night bill of what’s being called Cirivello’s After Hours features One Draw, the veteran Long Beach roots-rock reggae outfit, and genre-mates The Divine Crime.

The bands will perform in a plush side room, carved out of what used to be an adjacent movie theater, and outfitted with a wide stage and a sunken bar.

“If this is successful we plan further comforts in the room, like an upstairs VIP lounge,” Neswick said. “Our hopes are high.”

ONE DRAW AND THE DIVINE CRIME AT CIRIVELLO’S • 4115 VIKING WAY • LONG BEACH 90802 • 562.420.2113 • CIRIVELLOS.COM • FRI 10:30PM • $5 (INCLUDES PINT OF BEER) • ALSO DEC. 10 (ALFAJERK, THE NAILERS), DEC. 17 (CHAPTER 11).