9th Street has lost one of its pioneering businesses.
The EFN Lounge and Motley Bar, two bar concepts under a single roof on 9th Street in Shaw, abruptly closed its doors Monday night after the loss of its manager and months of financial instability.
The Blade has the scoop, which apparently includes some tension between the bar's employees and its owners, Tom McGuire and Adrian Massiah, over the surprise announcement of the closing. From the Blade story:
"Employees were informed of the decision Monday night. Gay bartender Matt Bamford, who’d worked there four months and is Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2010, said the news came as a shock...“Company standard there was always two weeks notice if we wanted to leave,” Bamford said. “What they did to not just the staff but to the community at large is just unconscionable.”
No word on what, if anything, might replace EFN. However, the bar's abrupt closure does not bode well for the immediate future of 9th Street retail and commercial activity. Business owners there and elsewhere clamor for so-called "critical mass" of businesses, which helps drive traffic to the neighborhood. Although several new businesses have opened along 9th Street in recent years, the corridor continues to encounter problems generating that critical mass--and EFN's closure won't aid matters.
EFN was formerly BeBar until being rebranded back in January 2009. BeBar opened in the space back in 2006.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
EFN Lounge/Motley Bar Abruptly Closes
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7 comments:
Sorry to see EFN closing, but your wish for more activity was answered with RJ Cooper announcing he will open his new restaurant in Blagden Alley this winter.
The building went to auction about 3 weeks ago - I would say losing the real estate contributes to the closing of EFN Lounge.
Gay bars come and go. No great loss.
Apropos of nothing, but while I didn't go there often, I did go fairly recently for one of their events. I've been getting into Foursquare recently, so I decided to check in.
I noticed that they offered the perk of a free drink tab to whoever is the Foursquare "Mayor" of EFN. Cool, I thought.
So who would I have to unseat as the current mayor? None other than Bill Gray himself. Lame!
If that bone-headed marketing ploy was indicative of the rest of their business acument, it's no reason they went under.
Still, it's a shame for 9th Street and Shaw. I hope it's only a temporary setback.
I blame the Salahi's. Everything they go near turns to shite.
Mistr K:
"Gay bars come and go. No great loss."
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I was very pleased last night: I was on a run and stopped by the Drum Circle in Meridian Park (didn't get too close b/c I didn't want to catch a contact buzz). A park police officer told a man with a dog to put the dog on a leash. The man said he didn't have a leash. Cop told the man he'd have to carry the dog. Cop watched to make sure man carried dog.
I applaud this officer. I'm sick and tired of dog owners thinking they can violate the law of decency by walking their pets without leashes.
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