Photo by Stacie Joy
Another independent neighborhood gathering space is preparing to close.
Francis Kite Club, the hybrid bar, social club and arts venue at 40 Avenue C between Third and Fourth Street, announced yesterday that it will close after service on Aug. 1.
In a message posted to Instagram, the owners cited a rent increase.
"With immense gratitude for your collaboration, Francis Kite Club will close its doors on Loisaida Avenue, Aug. 1. ... The song remains the same: the landlord is increasing the rent, making our endeavor unsustainable."
The owners added that they're considering relocating and hope to reopen in a new space.
Francis Kite Club officially debuted in early 2024, founded by friends Laura Hanna, Kyp Malone, John McEnerney, Alice McGillicuddy and Laura Raicovich.
The venue quickly earned a following for its mix of live music, performances, art events and community gatherings, with many patrons describing it as having an old-school East Village vibe.
The storefront has been listed for rent since late June.
The club plans to pause memberships after closing while exploring its next chapter.
You'd think the landlord would look across the street at the former CJ tattoo place and see that they're not going to get a renter any time soon. Really stupid landlords are a thing, huh. "A bird in the hand is better than two in a bush, unless the MBS degree holder you just met says you need to extract more value"
ReplyDeletegutted <3 this place is a gem
ReplyDeleteHow awful, greed is gross.
ReplyDeleteSo disappointing!. This place is great!!! I guess the landlord needed to make room for another empty storefront.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the rent wasn’t hiked to 10k for us at Francis Kite, the landlord supported the project and offered a lower increase, which she needed as she faces growing expenses.
ReplyDeleteSo it was a combination of factors such as increased costs for liability insurance, permits, and rent that were deciding factors in our move
According to the listing, the landlord is asking $10k/mo for this space. Hard to make that without being a high volume bar. The city needs to have some kind of monthly vacancy fee for commercial spaces like this. Would make landlords think a little harder before removing a paying tenant in the hopes of finding someone crazy enough to open a bar in this economy
ReplyDeleteFuck capitalism...Seriously
ReplyDeleteA nice venue… enjoyed playing it!!
ReplyDeleteYes but even if the Landlord gets 10 k a month it will take 6 months to lease and then pay a Broker Fee
ReplyDelete