Galaxy Hut changing hands...

[Random Citizen]

From the WaPo Going out Guru Blog:
 
 

Posted at 01:10 PM ET, 07/20/2005
 First the Bad News...
 Bad news for local music fans: Alice Despard is selling Galaxy Hut, the intimate Arlington pub that made a name for itself by booking little-known indie rock bands (including the Strokes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor); offering free live music three nights a week; and serving terrific beer and unpretentious food. "I'm moving on to something else," Despard explains. "I don't know what that is yet. It's kind of amorphous. â?¦ I just can't do anything [else] until I get this off my plate, like running a band and a family."
 Despard opened the Hut 14 years ago with her ex-husband, Bill Stewart, who went on to open Bardo Rodeo and Dr. Dremo's Taphouse, among other ventures. But in recent years, Despard says, she's sunk an increasing amount of money into things like infrastructure. "I just don't have the drive or the will to do it anymore," she said.
 
 Good news for local music fans: Despard is selling Galaxy Hut to longtime bartender Lary Hoffman, who's been at the Hut for eight years. "The offer's been on the table for a couple of years, but when Alice called me about it, I was shocked," Hoffman says. The man behind the local electronic group Aerialist, Hoffman says he's not planning a radical overhaul of the place but may make minor modifications, including tinkering with the menu and installing permanent art instead of the rotating shows that cover the walls.
 
 One change, though, is sure to raise some eyebrows: Starting in September, Galaxy Hut will charge a cover during Saturday, Sunday and Monday night concerts. Currently, because there's no cover charge, bands that play at the Hut are paid with a percentage of the night's sales. The philosophy: The more people the musicians bring out, the more money the Hut makes in food and drink sales. Hoffman disagrees with the policy. "I'm taking over a bar that's not really making money," he says. "It doesn't make sense to give the bands money out of the till."
 
 Despard says she always resisted the idea of a cover charge because she wanted to create a community gathering place where people would feel free to hang out, whether they cared about the band or not. The lack of a cover also encouraged people (including me) to check out artists they'd never heard of. It will be interesting to see whether Galaxy Hut starts booking more bands that can draw crowds and takes fewer chances on smaller groups.
 Hoffman will assume the new post on Sept. 1. His first order of business was to negotiate a new five-year lease on the space, which let Despard breathe a sigh of relief. "When I started, the only bars in town were Whitey's and Joseph's," she says. "We've watched it all get built up and we've managed to hold on. I can't believe it."
 -- Fritz
 

[eltee]

Wonder if she'll take the Jesus Christ Superstar Surfer table with her.

[godsshoeshine]

cover charge kind of kills the whole appeal doesn't it?

<img src="http://swg.stratics.com/content/lore/personas/images/jabba.gif" alt=" - " />
 Jabba's musclin' in

[ttuamy]

think she'll take eric estrada?

[TomJaworski]

at least its not closing or its not being sold to someone who wants to change the Hut into another irish bar considering that seems to be thing to do in arlington.

[jkeisenh]

i used to go to the Hut every wednesday to drink and talk with Lary.  I can tell you that he's a super cool guy, has the best interest of music in mind, and will definetely not do anything that would change the Galaxy Hut way of doing things.
 
 I can totally understand charging a cover.  One of the reasons Alice is selling is because they never made any money.  The only reason Lary would be able to keep the place open is if it starts making money. If a cover means the place will be there for longer, i'm all for it.

[Driveway]

There Versus show there a couple years ago was one of the best ever.  I think there was a whopping 5 dollar cover that night.  It was so crowded, I had my foot on one of the mic stands in the front.

[Random Citizen]

From the Galaxy Hut website:
 
 

Hello Everybody,
 
 As many of you know, the Galaxy Hut is under new ownership as of September 1st, 2005. Thank you Alice for giving me the opportunity to take over the business you so lovingly crafted over the years, your presence at the bar will be greatly missed. The Hut is such a special place to me, and the last thing I want to do is screw it up the place by changing a bunch of stuff. With that said, here's what I'm going to change!
 
 I've worked here since 1998, and have seen the strengths of the business, as well as things that will need to be done differently. Alice is getting out of the business because it is simply not turning a significant profit. One of the first things I will do to remedy this is to charge a cover on nights we have shows. It will be $5 between 8 and 12 PM, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This revenue will be used to pay the bands, replacing the current policy of paying bands out of the bar take. Yes, this will slightly affect our booking policy, as I will need at least one band a night that has somewhat of a "draw." But it simply needs to be done to keep the Hut alive. This will begin in October.
 
 I will be attempting to score a full liquor license next year. We have the food sales we need to get it back, so it should be a go. I will be keeping the menu's simple grill theme, with some minor tinkering. I will be opening for lunch hopefully sometime in 2006 as well, whenever I can let go of my day job.
 
 I will slowly be making changes to the appearance of the place, with a lot of help from the Hut's new artist Ben Claassen, who will have a permanent installation and rotating gallery. Ben has been my favorite artist over the Hut's history of rotating art shows, so I am really glad he will be involved. Other aesthetic stuff coming up will be a new front window theme, new inside door and window frames, new floor tiles, and general sprucing and rearranging. I also need to get off my butt and finish the Asbury Park painting on the patio, which I swear to god I'm going to put a roof on and make into a room if I can get permission!
 
 Anyway, thanks again to Alice, and to all of you for making the Hut such a great place to hang out and listen to music. I'll do my best to maintain the vibe.
 
 Cheers,
 Lary
 
 P.S. Alice's last bartending shift is Thursday, September 1st!!! Please come out to say hi.

[jkeisenh]

I *heart* Ben Claassen's art.  I'm excited to see what he's got up his sleeves for this!