NORTHAMPTON — Chanel Lobdell, a graduate student at Amherst, Massachusetts, says she visits downtown Northampton once a month. On a sunny May day, Mr. Robdell was walking down the city’s main street with his family, who were visiting from Orlando for his graduation.
For the urban planning student, Lobdell says he enjoys what the city’s downtown has to offer, with one notable exception.
“I like to shop at local boutiques, and there are many good restaurants,” Lobdell said. “But it’s sad that we don’t have a live music scene. It should come back.”
A persistent obstacle to Northampton’s full recovery from the economic fallout from the pandemic is the lack of nightlife around the city due to the closure of several entertainment venues owned by local real estate magnate Eric Sucher. is. Five such venues owned by Mr. Suhar have been in a state of continuous closure since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a city known as an arts and culture hub. It has a big hole.
Suhar has come under criticism for continuing to close venues such as Pearl Street and The Iron Horse, and the Northampton Licensing Commission initially stripped him of his liquor license, and several others. After subjecting the license to review, an agreement was reached with Suha to either sell or sell. Or reopen the store by September 29th.
Additionally, the agreement requires third parties or Suher to conduct a certain level of activity at each venue in order to satisfy the license agreement. The Basement and Iron Horse locations should be open four nights a week, the Green Room six nights a week, and Pearl Street and the Calvin Theater a month he should have four to six shows.
While these venues are closed, other venues in Florence and nearby communities – Drake in Amherst, Marigold in East Hampton and Bombix Art and Equity Center in Florence – fill the void and bring people together. We offer another location.
Suha has a history of breaking promises to reopen the venue, but city officials hope the terms of the deal will eventually motivate her to sell some of her property. there is
“Mayor Shara hopes to become the first person in history to have Eric Schurrer sell a building,” said Mayoral Chief of Staff Alan Wolfe. “And hopefully he likes the feeling of, ‘I’ve got a place that didn’t work for me, and now I have money.'” I hope you start breaking the ice. ”
Meanwhile, Northampton authorities are considering an ordinance similar to the one adopted in Easthampton, but which would require property owners with vacant stores to register with the city’s building commission and to have buildings available for rent in the city. It obliges you to pay a support fee for the Space database. Immediate plans for such proposals.
“I don’t know if Northampton can do that, but I don’t know if the tax will have any effect on chronically vacant properties,” said Amy, executive director of Downtown Northampton. Kahlane says. Association.
Other new businesses in Northampton are trying to fill the void the city currently lacks in nightlife. The newly opened Mexcalito Taco Bar will be open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, similar to its current location in Amherst. Gombo on Main Street plans to open its bar until midnight later that day and introduce live jazz music to further enhance the New Orleans-inspired atmosphere.
Gombo’s owner John Piscoe said, “We plan to close the restaurant after hours, have a bar only, and have a four-piece New Orleans band play every Friday night.” “It’s completely different from what else is going on.”