TURNTABLE
INFINITY ROOM
A TASTE THAT'S OUTERSPACE
Summer and Stan Keightly want you to have a good meal and a good time. From the performers on their stage to the customers at their tables, the goal is a “delicious and substantial” meal, regardless of your diet. “I wanted to create a place where everybody could come together and eat,” Summer said. “I know not everyone is vegan, but almost everyone can eat vegan food.” The result is a menu thoughtfully considered, right down to the aquafaba used to create the perfect froth on the “Ginfinity Fizz” cocktail.
The recently reopened Infinity Room is a partnership of two Salem places and four Salemites. Summer and Stan’s venue The Space merged with Capitol City Theater in 2019. Summer is the cook, and runs what is now the only 100% vegan kitchen and bar in town. Stan Keightly and Christopher Pelka provide the sound engineering for all the performers, and Emma Jones teaches improv and runs the comedy and booking end of the business.
Though the Infinity Room may be newer to Salem’s downtown, Summer and Stan have been feeding and entertaining Salem for more than a decade. They provided food for Level B Theater Pub during its operation, and opened The Space (with fellow Salemite Doug Hoffman) in West Salem in 2016, where they combined vegan food and live performance. In 2019, an opportunity arose to merge with Capitol City Theater, and it was the perfect time to make a change. The plan was to spend a month or so renovating their new space, then quickly reopen. COVID, as we all know, had other plans. That onemonth renovation turned into a two-year project. “When we say every room in this building has been renovated by us, it’s true,” Summer said.
Story by Anne Lapour Photos by Ben Mah spring 2022 | www.pressplaysalem.com | 5
