Grace's Little Belmont was a jazz music bar and lounge in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Located at 37 Kentucky Avenue, it was one of the four popular black nightclubs situated on that street between the mid-1930s and mid-1970s; the others were Club Harlem, the Paradise Club, and the Wonder Gardens. The Little Belmont was located across the street from Club Harlem, with which it often shared performers and patrons. Wild Bill Davis and his swing and jazz quartet were featured summer performers from 1950 through the mid-1960s, and Elvera M. "Baby" Sanchez, mother of Sammy Davis, Jr., worked at the bar. The club closed in the mid-1970s and was later demolished.

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Grace's Little Belmont

Grace's Little Belmont, 2010
Grace's Little Belmont Location in Atlantic City
Address	37 Kentucky Avenue Atlantic City, New Jersey United States
Coordinates	39°21′36″N 74°25′47″W
Type	Nightclub
Opened	Mid-1930s
Closed	Mid-1970s

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The brick facade of the building had an art deco-style entrance with two square glass windows flanking the doorway.^[24] Inside, the lounge featured a bar in the shape of a horseshoe^[2] and a performance area with a Hammond B3 organ famously played by Wild Bill Davis during his annual summer engagement at the club in the 1950s and 1960s.^{[25][24][26][27]} Booths – considered comfortable by female patrons^[28] – lined the walls.^[24]

Grace's Little Belmont booked a variety of black orchestras and combos during its 40-year history. In 1934 the Baltimore Afro-American reported that the Little Belmont Bar "has got that Harlem atmosphere", as it was featuring Israel Thompson's dance orchestra nightly with special appearance by Cotton Club dancer Amy Spencer.^[29] In 1949 the bar booked the Loumell Morgan Trio, with musicians on piano, guitar, and bass.^[30][31]

In the 1940s, jazz organist Wild Bill Davis began appearing at Grace's Little Belmont; he had a featured summer engagement here from 1950 through the mid-1960s.^[32] In 1948 jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges, then vacationing in the resort town, dropped by the lounge and started jamming with Davis and his jazz quartet. Hodges returned each summer to continue the tradition. In 1966 Davis and Hodges, together with the other three members of Davis' quartet and jazz trombonist Lawrence Brown, recorded their jam session in front of a packed house. Titled Wild Bill Davis and Johnny Hodges in Atlantic City, the LP was released on the RCA Victor label.^[26][33] Davis recorded a second live performance album, Midnight to Dawn, at Grace's Little Belmont in 1967.^[2][34]

In July 1952 the club booked jazz pianist Ram Ramirez as a temporary replacement for Wild Bill Davis.^[35] In June 1953 it brought in the Johnny Sparrow trio, a popular group from Philadelphia,^[36] and a month later, the Billy Taylor trio.^[37] In the summer of 1956 Wild Bill Davis introduced his new trio at the lounge, with musicians on organ, piano, and guitar performing both original compositions and pop music.^[25] Noted as "one of the few, if not the only organist using two amplifiers", Davis' performance could be heard for blocks around.^[25]

Elvera M. "Baby" Sanchez, formerly a chorus line dancer at the Apollo Theater and mother of Sammy Davis, Jr., began working as a barmaid at Grace's Little Belmont in 1941 after retiring from her show business career at age 35.^{[38][39][40][41]} She enjoyed telling jokes to customers and was known for sporting a gold napkin.^[42] Her connections with entertainers Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, and Sarah Vaughn drew these and other celebrities to her station, and her son Sammy would come to visit after performing across town at the 500 Club "and delighted everyone pouring drinks and singing".^[40] Frank Sinatra's valet George Jacobs recalled in his memoirs that Sinatra also liked to drop by Grace's Little Belmont in the early morning hours after his shows at the 500 Club to say hello to Davis' mother behind the bar.^[43]

The Hammond B3 organ at Grace's Little Belmont was moved to Asbury United Methodist Church in Atlantic City after the club closed.^[27] Princeton's Antiques & Books of Atlantic City is in possession of miniature models of Grace's Little Belmont, Club Harlem, and other Kentucky Avenue nightspots fashioned by local artist Joseph Frazier.^[44]

• Kentucky Avenue Renaissance Festival