A Beehive of activity for people 30 and over

The Beehive, the newest addition to the Boston jazz circuit, takes its name from La Ruche -- "the beehive" in French -- an early 20th-century artists' colony in Paris where the likes of Matisse and Chagall worked and made merry.

That lofty reference should make clear that the impresarios behind the Beehive, a restaurant, bar, and performance venue that has just opened on Tremont Street in the Boston Center for the Arts complex, envision something different than either the dive bars or the sleek, hotel-run operations where jazz in Boston tends to be performed.

The Beehive team includes two well-regarded local restaurateurs, Jack Bardy of Pho Republique and Darryl Settles of Bob's Southern Bistro, the reincarnation of legendary soul-food establishment Bob the Chef's. Bob's has a tradition of jazz, blues, and gospel performance, and Settles is the mastermind behind the Beehive's musical bill of fare.

Settles says he had wanted to open a music-oriented venue larger than Bob's for five years . The Beehive project with Bardy and associates Jennifer Epstein and Bill Keravuori was hatched 2 1/2 years ago. The motivation, Settles says, stemmed from the oft-heard complaint that Boston's nightlife skews heavily toward the collegiate set, leaving an older crowd with few options.

"There's not a lot for professionals to do after 10 p.m.," Settles says. "I've noticed from owning Bob's that all the time people 30 and over complain about having no place to go. But that's beginning to change now. We've always been an international town. We're getting more tourists. People are loosening up."

The BCA site, Settles says, is "ground zero" for the demographic he has in mind, an arts hub surrounded by up to 20 restaurants on a stretch of Tremont Street .

The plan is to offer live music seven nights a week, early on Sunday through Tuesday, and late -- until 2 a.m. -- the other nights. The programming will be fine-tuned in the first months of operation, Settles says, but the bill of fare will be mainly jazz: "energetic jazz," he emphasizes, meaning, he says, that horns will be involved.

The Berklee College of Music is a major force in the programming Settles is assembling for the Beehive. Wednesdays will feature a Berklee faculty jam. Tuesdays will offer Berklee Emerging Artist showcases. "We'll have the highest-profile bands on campus," Settles says, "ones that are already signed [to record deals] or about to be." The material will stretch well beyond mainstream jazz, he says, including R&B, Afrobeat, Latin jazz, bossa nova, and blues.

Settles clarifies that there is no contract with Berklee, but rather an ongoing partnership. The relationship was already established, as the faculty jam, coordinated with Berklee professor and guitarist Bill Banfield , is a staple at Bob's on Mondays. But the link illustrates the broader vision of making the Beehive a showcase for the abundant talent in Boston. In the same vein, pianists Donal Fox and Danilo Pérez , who are active with the new JazzBoston coalition of local artists, promoters, and aficionados, are on deck to host a Sunday-night world music series.

Settles says he expects periodic visits from national acts but that Boston is the venue's natural talent pool. This makes the Beehive less a competitor and more a complement to the national-act havens Regattabar and Scullers.

Perhaps the most significant gamble of all for the Beehive is the hope that the size of the venue -- 6,500 square feet divided into several dining areas, two bars, and an outdoor terrace -- and the Mediterranean-influenced food by chef Adam Halberg , recently of Via Matta , will draw a volume of business that will make charging a music cover unnecessary.

"For some reason, people don't want to pay for local musicians," Settles says. Should it succeed, the Beehive will ensure that they still won't have to.

The Beehive is at 541 Tremont St. , 617-423-0069 ; beehiveboston.com . Dinner 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., bar to 2 a.m., entertainment nightly.