The small, cozy music room at C’est What has long been a haven for local music fans, but come summer’s end, the club may be forced to close its doors due to a rent dispute. Owners George Milbrandt and Tim Broughton (who also own the adjacent restaurant/pub) say that they will have to shut down the venue in August because they won’t agree to new rental terms proposed by their landlord, Michael Tippin, who is seeking to triple the current rate.
“This is well out of the ability of our music programme to sustain,” Milbrandt says. While live music is fairly consistent on a financial level (unlike the restaurant side of the business, which suffered through the Summer of SARS), it still requires constant reinvestment of profits to succeed.
Tippin, a well-known local developer of historical properties, inherited the lease on C’est What’s music room when he purchased the building at 19 Church in 1999. Though most don’t realize it, the club is actually separate from the attached pub, and as such, the latter side of the C’est What operation is not owned by Tippin and is unaffected by the current quandary. (Milbrandt and Broughton recently signed a long-term lease on the pub with its landlord).
The current rent for the music room (dubbed “Club Nia @ C’est What” last year in a bid to distinguish it from the pub, though the name hasn’t really caught on) was set by an arbitrator when Tippin initiated mediation five years ago. The arbitrator suggested a market-value rate that was lower than what Tippin requested, so the rent for the space has since sat at a reasonable $3,500 a month (a pretty good deal for a prime music venue in this city). Tippin is currently seeking $8,500 a month; Milbrandt and Broughton are offering $5,000, which they say is beyond what they can afford, but they would consider it an investment in the club.
However, the club owners say they have not had a meeting with Tippin in many months, and that all communication during this current dispute has been through his real estate agent, Dan Gugula. “We really have no idea what Mr. Tippin’s motivations are. You’d have to ask him,” says Milbrandt.
Repeated calls and emails to Tippin seeking comment went unanswered.
In the meantime, local musicians and fans are reeling from the news that they may lose a much-loved venue, known for its diverse programming and comfortable atmosphere.
Music-room manager/booker/soundman Crispin Giles has been deluged with e-mails of support in the past week. He’s hoping the performers and fans that fill the club every night will make their voices heard. Details on an e-mail campaign to help save the club have been compiled on C’est What’s website: www.cestwhat.com/savelivemusic.asp.
“I feel as though we’ve offered something to both the music community and to the public that’s real and honest,” Giles says. “I would really hate to see all that focus and support be wiped out by something I see as being stoppable.”
C’est What staff are hoping that a public outcry will help impress upon Tippin just how important the venue is to the city’s live music scene. If that doesn’t work, the last show will be performed Aug. 21 and the club may be redeveloped soon after. Giles is preparing for that eventuality by organizing a month of shows in August featuring alumni of the club (pretty much every local indie success story, from Hawksley Workman to Emm Gryner, has played there) and other special guests.
“It’s like Joni Mitchell said, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,'” Milbrandt says. “But if you’re going to die, have a big wake.”
