Melbourne’s The Gasometer Hotel has a message for its patrons, “Yes we are closed and will remain closed.”
Following reports that the venue had abruptly cancelled gigs late last week, court documents revealed that the Melbourne live music venue had entered into liquidation, owing more than $30,000 in debt.
The venue’s operators took to the Gasometer’s Facebook page on Friday night to post: “Update later tonight. Been a day. Getting through it.”
A few days later, there is now an official statement from the venue’s co-owner Kody Abrams explaining that the Collingwood-based hotel will be closing its doors for good.
“This is not going to be a excuse or anything that I will be replying to once I’ve written it, so feel free to discuss as you want, but there’ll be no rebuttals,” begins the statement.
“Yes we are closed and will remain closed. Unfortunately it was too much and too big for me alone to keep its head above, there were many factors involved. I was never a business man and never wanted to be, I just wanted a place I could go see bands.”
Since it was purchased in 2010 by Paul and Egilberto Martin alongside Mr Abrams, former manager of the now defunct East Brunswick Club, The Gasometer Hotel had built up a respected reputation as the go-to to see Melbourne’s emerging punk and garage bands, with the likes of Smith Street Band, Songs, Woollen Kits, Zond, and Royal Headache having played its bandroom.
Last week, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) documents obtained by Tone Deaf revealed that a number of payments by the venue had defaulted, including nearly $30,000 owed to Victorian Workcover in June and $3,116 to The Wine Company Pty Ltd in April 2013. “I was never a business man and never wanted to be, I just wanted a place I could go see bands.”
On Wednesday 6th November, a South Australian court ruling had placed the Collingwood venue into the hands of insolvency firm Macks Advisory.
The successful court action to wind up the venue, registered as Gasometer Pty Ltd, was brought forward by one of the hotel’s liquor suppliers, the McLaren Vale Beer Company Pty Ltd, issued to the South Australian Commonwealth Laws Court back in August.
An additional insolvency notice from ASIC reveals that the venue had been in financial trouble for some time, with an unsuccessful wind up action brought forward by the Australian Tax Office issued as far back as January this year.
“There were a lot of mistakes made early that were never recovered from, and a lot of learning on the job,” writes Abrams in yesterday’s statement. “There were people that helped and there were people that harmed, unfortunately that’s how it goes,” he added.
The co-owner also thanked past and present staff of the Gasometer; “we’ve had our problems and our issues some of us are still friends and some of us are not. But we were family at a point, and for that I will always love you and thank you for our time.”
All gigs that were to be held at the venue, which had a healthy schedule booked through to the end of the year, have been cancelled effective immediately. “To the bands – I loved you all and thank you for existing,” notes Abrams’ statement. “I’m sorry to the bands we had to cancel on.”
It was the sudden cancellation of an EP launch by Melbourne duo Premium Fantasy on Thursday 7th November that first mad the uncertain future of the venue public, the group posting on their Facebook that the hotel did not open for trade and was having issues with its liquor license.
There had been contention over the status of the Gasometer since early October, when the venue appeared for sale for $310,000 via a listing by estate agents Connolly Hospitality appearing online.
At the time, Mr Abrams told Tone Deaf that the venues was “not for sale… It’s up as a expression of interest; an additional statement later that day added:
The Gasometer Hotel is still listed on Connolly Hospitality’s listing page for an asking price of $310,000, with The Music running a report at the end of October stating that estate agent Pat Connolly had confirmed that “several buyers” were making offers on the venue, with its two band rooms (of 100 and 250 capacity respectively) taking in estimated earnings of $24,000 per week.
