The Los Angeles club venue, The Satellite, has announced they will no longer be hosting shows or dance parties, and will begin to transition into a restaurant. The Silver Lake venue shut its doors at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and have been struggling to stay afloat since.
The club shared the news that they would be changing into a restaurant via social media, posting a photo of the empty building and the marquee saying, “Closed for the crisis, take care of each other.”
“We shut our doors March 12 after the bands started canceling shows due to the coronavirus and the Government shutting down the bars and nightclubs just a few days later,” the venue’s statement said. “It has really hit us hard. We can no longer afford to wait for the day we will be allowed to have shows again. If we do that, we will not have the money to continue and will be forced to close forever.”
The venue had been hosting live performances for 25 years, and have hosted acts such as Lady Gaga, the Foo Fighters, Silversun Pickups, Teammate, Eleanor Friedberger, Tweak Bird and The Melvin’s King Buzzo, The Egg and Sophi Barker, Disappears and many more.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, the venue was purchased by Jeff Wolfram’s family in 1968, the venue staying in the family since. In an interview with Los Angeles Magazine, Wolfram said music began in the venue when his father hired a friend to perform traditional German music to cater to the neighborhood. Eventually, he began introducing disco and radio hits to the venue, before Wolfram began inviting live performances.
The Satellite has plans to become a restaurant once again, their statement explaining they are currently in the process of removing the venue’s stage. With plans to reconfigure the building and redesign the kitchen, the statement emphasized it will take time before they can begin to reopen.
“Due to the lack of funds, this will not happen quickly,” the statement said. “We will be opening in the parking lot for food and drinks as soon as we have the kitchen re-opened or the government lets us hire a food truck. We hope you will still support us during these tough times.”
The Satellite had been part of NIVA, the National Independent Venue Association. NIVA is currently working to lobby Congress to help support independent venues, so more do not have to shutter their doors due to a lack of finances during the coronavirus.
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