They say its not over, but it is. No more Met Cafe, Lupo's will now book at the Strand and shows will end by 10:30.
Here is the Projo story:
Lupo's expected to move to Strand
An agreement is tentatively set to be signed this morning.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 26, 2003
BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer
The saga of Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel may finally end today, when a deal is expected to be sealed for the Westminster Street rock emporium to share the stage with a downtown dance club.
Lupo; his landlord, Arnold A. "Buff" Chace; and Michael Kent have agreed in principle to a deal under which Chace would buy the remaining years on Lupo's lease in the Peerless building, and Lupo will move his operation into the Strand, at 70 Washington St., sharing the space with Kent.
Lupo and a representative of the Strand both expressed confidence that the deal would be signed this morning.
"Everyone's agreed to it," Lupo said.
"That will get signed [this] morning; I'm very confident of that," said Lois Maraia, of CJ & J Consulting, the management company for the Strand.
Kent runs NV at the Strand, a dance club on weekend nights. Under the agreement, Lupo says, his weekend live-music shows will end at 10:30 p.m., and NV at the Strand will open at 11.
"It's a licensing agreement, actually," Lupo said yesterday. "Two separate businesses doing business in the venue."
Lupo is no stranger to this setup. In his own club, he explained, he had the same arrangement for a time. "We used to have the WBRU dance parties on Saturday nights. So we knew it was a feasible idea." He cited the nightclub Avalon, in Boston, as an example of the dual use. "This is done in other cities," he said.
The agreement for Chace to buy out Lupo has been in place for about four months, Lupo said. "Within the three parties, there's been a lot of stuff to work out. We've been pretty much all set with Buff for a while."
Chace and his partners, under the names of Cornish Associates and other entities, have been looking to build apartments in the Peerless building for years. His goal is to create a mixed-use residential neighborhood.
In 1999, Chace tried to evict Lupo, claiming that the sound of loud music from the nightclub made it impossible for him to develop the rest of the building into living spaces. In April 2001, District Court Judge Patricia D. Moore ruled in Lupo's favor.
In recent years, Chace and Lupo have been negotiating a buyout and a new home for the club. About six months ago, when Lupo entered the third five-year phase of his Peerless-building lease, Lupo says, Chace raised his offer. Lupo wouldn't disclose the figure.
"The money went up," Lupo said yesterday, ". . . But it was always crucial to me to find a new location. I never wanted to just close the club. . . . Also, I really didn't want to move. But you keep adding it up and say 'Maybe it's the best thing.' As time's gone by, the years on my lease have grown shorter, and his offer's gotten higher, and now we've found a location that makes sense. . . .
"For the last six years, I've been entertaining other locations. And we've come close many times. About four months ago, the mayor's office entertained me with this notion."
Maraia says "we had some conversation" with the mayor's office. They "absolutely" wanted the deal to happen, she said. "I think it's a good move for the city. That's part of the reason that we did it, was to cooperate and help the city out."
Negotiations between Lupo and Kent went smoothly, Maraia said. And the mayor's office was helpful as well. "They were happy to have Rich go someplace. . . . Rich approached us. We're the perfect facility, size-wise, and we have the capabilities to accommodate him, with security and everything, and I think it's going to work out well."
A spokeswoman for Mayor David N. Cicilline said that Cicilline would have no comment until the deal was signed.
Lupo says the agreement will be good for business. After repair work is done to the balcony, the Strand will have a capacity of 2,000 -- roughly twice the old Lupo's.
This will enable him to book bigger acts, and keep up with the changes in the live-music business, Lupo says.
"As much as I feel there's a special ambience to being in our club, we've lost some bands who simply want to play in theaters. And stage requirements are such that some bands couldn't play in Lupo's. So there are certainly more acts that we'll get."
And the uncertainty over the club's future was hurting as well. "Everything got kind of messed up because of the move," Lupo says. "It cost us shows. The word got out to the agencies." He says that there are very few shows scheduled for December and January, and that Lupo's won't resume a full schedule until late January or early February.
Lupo already had three shows scheduled for the Strand in advance of the deal: Chevelle on Dec. 8, Seal on Dec. 9 and E6 on Dec. 11. "He had them coming up because we were quite sure we were going to be able to work this out," Maraia said.
While Lupo describes the arrangement as a licensing agreement, he also notes that under the deal he will have 15 years of options at the Strand on his own, no matter what happens to NV at the Strand. "We're an addendum to the lease that Kent has at the Strand. That was a really big factor in my decision."
The Met Cafe, also in the Peerless building, around the corner on Union Street, will close as a result of the deal, Lupo said. "The Met is a victim of urban development."
Lupo's hope is to have a closing-night celebration on Dec. 3, and envisions calling it Lupo's Last Strand.
They say its not over, but it is. No more Met Cafe, Lupo's will now book at the Strand and shows will end by 10:30.
Here is the Projo story:
Lupo's expected to move to Strand
An agreement is tentatively set to be signed this morning.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 26, 2003
BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer
The saga of Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel may finally end today, when a deal is expected to be sealed for the Westminster Street rock emporium to share the stage with a downtown dance club.
Lupo; his landlord, Arnold A. "Buff" Chace; and Michael Kent have agreed in principle to a deal under which Chace would buy the remaining years on Lupo's lease in the Peerless building, and Lupo will move his operation into the Strand, at 70 Washington St., sharing the space with Kent.
Lupo and a representative of the Strand both expressed confidence that the deal would be signed this morning.
"Everyone's agreed to it," Lupo said.
"That will get signed [this] morning; I'm very confident of that," said Lois Maraia, of CJ & J Consulting, the management company for the Strand.
Kent runs NV at the Strand, a dance club on weekend nights. Under the agreement, Lupo says, his weekend live-music shows will end at 10:30 p.m., and NV at the Strand will open at 11.
"It's a licensing agreement, actually," Lupo said yesterday. "Two separate businesses doing business in the venue."
Lupo is no stranger to this setup. In his own club, he explained, he had the same arrangement for a time. "We used to have the WBRU dance parties on Saturday nights. So we knew it was a feasible idea." He cited the nightclub Avalon, in Boston, as an example of the dual use. "This is done in other cities," he said.
The agreement for Chace to buy out Lupo has been in place for about four months, Lupo said. "Within the three parties, there's been a lot of stuff to work out. We've been pretty much all set with Buff for a while."
Chace and his partners, under the names of Cornish Associates and other entities, have been looking to build apartments in the Peerless building for years. His goal is to create a mixed-use residential neighborhood.
In 1999, Chace tried to evict Lupo, claiming that the sound of loud music from the nightclub made it impossible for him to develop the rest of the building into living spaces. In April 2001, District Court Judge Patricia D. Moore ruled in Lupo's favor.
In recent years, Chace and Lupo have been negotiating a buyout and a new home for the club. About six months ago, when Lupo entered the third five-year phase of his Peerless-building lease, Lupo says, Chace raised his offer. Lupo wouldn't disclose the figure.
"The money went up," Lupo said yesterday, ". . . But it was always crucial to me to find a new location. I never wanted to just close the club. . . . Also, I really didn't want to move. But you keep adding it up and say 'Maybe it's the best thing.' As time's gone by, the years on my lease have grown shorter, and his offer's gotten higher, and now we've found a location that makes sense. . . .
"For the last six years, I've been entertaining other locations. And we've come close many times. About four months ago, the mayor's office entertained me with this notion."
Maraia says "we had some conversation" with the mayor's office. They "absolutely" wanted the deal to happen, she said. "I think it's a good move for the city. That's part of the reason that we did it, was to cooperate and help the city out."
Negotiations between Lupo and Kent went smoothly, Maraia said. And the mayor's office was helpful as well. "They were happy to have Rich go someplace. . . . Rich approached us. We're the perfect facility, size-wise, and we have the capabilities to accommodate him, with security and everything, and I think it's going to work out well."
A spokeswoman for Mayor David N. Cicilline said that Cicilline would have no comment until the deal was signed.
Lupo says the agreement will be good for business. After repair work is done to the balcony, the Strand will have a capacity of 2,000 -- roughly twice the old Lupo's.
This will enable him to book bigger acts, and keep up with the changes in the live-music business, Lupo says.
"As much as I feel there's a special ambience to being in our club, we've lost some bands who simply want to play in theaters. And stage requirements are such that some bands couldn't play in Lupo's. So there are certainly more acts that we'll get."
And the uncertainty over the club's future was hurting as well. "Everything got kind of messed up because of the move," Lupo says. "It cost us shows. The word got out to the agencies." He says that there are very few shows scheduled for December and January, and that Lupo's won't resume a full schedule until late January or early February.
Lupo already had three shows scheduled for the Strand in advance of the deal: Chevelle on Dec. 8, Seal on Dec. 9 and E6 on Dec. 11. "He had them coming up because we were quite sure we were going to be able to work this out," Maraia said.
While Lupo describes the arrangement as a licensing agreement, he also notes that under the deal he will have 15 years of options at the Strand on his own, no matter what happens to NV at the Strand. "We're an addendum to the lease that Kent has at the Strand. That was a really big factor in my decision."
The Met Cafe, also in the Peerless building, around the corner on Union Street, will close as a result of the deal, Lupo said. "The Met is a victim of urban development."
Lupo's hope is to have a closing-night celebration on Dec. 3, and envisions calling it Lupo's Last Strand.
Just read colin powell teaches abstinence to girls in an attempt to fight AIDS. Why doesn't he teach boys?
This movie is worth your time...much better than The Hulk