Groucho’s closing due to landlord’s negligence, refusal to renew lease

by June Leffler

Groucho’s Bar and Karaoke announced via their Facebook page that they will be closing at the end of January. While customers bemoaned the news and many praised the work they had done in their four years of business, the owners only said that there is by no means a lack of financial support.

The bar’s success, despite not being zoned to sell hard liquor, along with the anticipated business due to Germantown’s growth leave little reason as to why the owners would voluntarily close.

Groucho’s will be closing because their landlord, Lisa Dolson of the former Lisa’s OakStreet Lounge, refuses to renew their lease. However, Dolson has not explained the reason for this and has discontinued contact with Groucho’s owners since last summer.

“We’ve called and emailed her but she never responds,” said Steve Rogers aka Groucho. “We want to continue the business, but she’s stonewalling us.”

The negligent communication had led to poor upkeep of the building and an earlier eviction notice, despite Groucho’s consistently paying their rent. Last November, Groucho’s desperately tried to contact Dolson because their liquor license was expiring just three months before their building lease ran out. After no contact, the owners renewed their liquor license for another year, despite not being able to renew their lease. This instance became a confirmation of Dolson’s refusal to cooperate.

Having heard customer and neighborhood comments on Dolson and Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, Groucho’s can only speculate that she wants to move a new business into the same building.

“Lisa told me originally that this space was jinxed. Bars here wouldn’t even last six months,” said Minae Rogers. “She knows we’ve been doing well here for a while and might want to do something similar here.”

Besides Groucho’s longevity, Steve and Minae Rogers expect the new Germantown Mill Lofts across the street (set to be finished by fall 2015) to almost guarantee a worthwhile business venture.

I spoke with Lisa Dolson, but she declined my request to interview.

Groucho’s owners are open to the idea of relocating the business. This year they have looked at several locations, but have yet to find an appropriate venue.

“We’d like to stay in Germantown or even move to the Highlands, Old Louisville or Market Street,” said Steve Rogers, “but we also need to find a place suitable for a karaoke setup.”

Even if Groucho’s does not relocate, Rogers said he’s interested in karaoke jockeying around town.

A public outcry from customers appeared on the business’s Facebook page after they announced their closing.

Jake Reber, a longtime patron and host of Groucho’s Comedy Attack, said Groucho’s has a strange atmosphere that matched how he was feeling when he stumbled across the bar. Jake Reber lived near the bar and felt it became his own.

“When I first walked in Steve was playing Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War”, and I love that song,”said Reber. “Steve and I have a lot of shared interests.”

Reber then began hosting the bi­weekly Comedy Attack.

“I learned how to be a comic here, and Steve helped me learn how to host a show,” said Reber.

Like many others, Reber is heartbroken over the news.

“I just want to ride the magic with everyone and see what should and will happen. I don’t want to be bitter, and maybe this will help Groucho’s find a more adept place to sell liquor and work with a better landlord.”

Groucho’s Bar and Karaoke is a mom and son run bar on Goss Avenue, known for its dive setting and cult and nerd flair. Groucho’s has hosted four Halloween screenings of Troll 2, the bi-weekly Comedy Attack, music and theatrical shows, and costume parties over four years.

Groucho’s last day of business will be either January 24th or 25th.

I daydream to cope with my LDR. advice.

On the Internet, there is a ton of discussion and debate on how to make a long distance relationship work. And while there are many habits and cute activities to strengthen your relationship, these things are only the basic rituals to help you cope with the situation.

My boyfriend and I have a super solid relationship, even though we only Skype twice a week, because we’re faithful and pretty independent.  The Internet’s got a lot of cute and fun ideas that a couple can do together over the distance. Try ’em out. A vital part about an LDR, like all relationships, is to simply look out for your happiness and your own mental state.

Exercise, spending time with friends, committing to your work or hobbies are greats ideas! Great diversions! I do all but one of those. However, when you cannot divert from your desire to be with your partner you need to displace your feelings. You could call them up, but maybe it’s 5 in the morning for them. Just as you have to resign yourself to Skyping rather than actually seeing them, you have to still enjoy the thought of your partner when you can’t contact them at all. Here’s what I mean by displacing your natural urges for sex, romance, and companionship.

1. Day dream and fantasize. My friend asked me what is the first thing I will do when I get back to the States. I play that moment out in my head everyday. I think about going past security with my two bags and seeing him. We’d slowly meet each other at a staggered pace and I’d look up and say “You waited. I always knew you’d wait.”

Whatever realistic or surreal imagery works for you, daydreaming is about coping with the time you have and enjoying yourself. You’re not going to be disappointed if when the real moment comes it’s not so picturesque.

In fact, this interview with a relationship therapist on The Huffington Post says that people in LDRs are able to have a more ideal image of their partner than maybe those living in the same city(or some small apartment).

Before I took the time for daydreaming or other similar daily meditations( picturing my boyfriend and I drinking, having sex or getting Indian buffet), I’d just be kind of upset and obsess over the countdown calendar I have on my phone. Your enemy in a LDR is time, and dreaming, while sleeping or awake, zaps time and gives you the uncanny impression of everything actually happening.

2. Live vicariously through your friends. Revel in their juicy stories. Or get drunk and bitch at them for having  no game. That helps me displace my frustration and I assume it doesn’t totally wreck their egos…uhhmmm.

3. Enjoy romantic movies and literature. If you can turn around from being disgusted at couples on the street to gently sighing as you see them you are in the best position to not hate your LDR life. I showed my students Slumdog Millionaire, a great story of a long lost love reuniting. It broke me down and built me up. I cried and gushed from the beautiful longing nature of this film. Enjoy romance when you see it in art or on the street. Let your heart long for and appreciate this images, don’t be depressed, disgusted or jealous.

5. Hone your (at times tragic) romantic side. Tying together 1 and 3 really. Love is a mutual commitment and understanding, but it’s maddening effect is based on your own individual experience of it. Love is a spiritual and emotional experience within the individual and you will continue to yield to those sensations even by yourself if you really love someone. Own it. Be the hopeless romantic with an end in sight.

Love inspires us and changes us,but over time it gives us too much comfort and can impede our creativity. Take this um uncomfortable time to be creative.

ESL lesson: Deals, Shopping part I

intended for: All levels at Korean high school

Time: 45-50 minutes

Materials: worksheets , ppt (shopping deals)

Aims: Learn shopping phrases and practice shopping conversations. This is part 1 of my lesson on shopping for students roleplay test. The ppt has a number review and a product discussion. Use either, none, or both.

Present: Present useful phrases for shopping. Have students repeat after you.

Practice: Call on students to practice the phrases you just taught. The ppt has questions and pictures which students can answers. ex, you say “Hello, how may I help you”. Student sees the picture of the rice cooker and should response “Excuse me, I’m looking for a rice cooker.”

Production: (more practice than production really) Hand students the two part worksheet. They must work in pairs. For part I, students want to buy a laptop and must choose the one they want to buy by filling in the dialogue. The matching slide shows three laptops. For part II, students decide what kind of candy they want and how many bags to get. The matching slide has three kinds of candy and their deals. 

Opt practice: Students may need to review their numbers. The beginning of the ppt has numbers to review. Explain the rules of the commas.

Opt production: The ppt has slides with a crappy LG flip Phone and a cool Samsung Galaxy. Suggest to the students that their parents will buy them one fo these phones. ask them which phone they want and list reasons to buy Galaxy phone and then reason to buy the LG phone. This gets students to think more deeply about what they are actually looking for when shopping. 

Outcome: Not a special lesson but the practice dialogues are pretty good. These are a great way to get students to start using appropriate shopping conversations without a) them having to form a dialogue from scratch and b) them just reading from a already formed script.