The old promoters of Vancouver's Waldorf Hotel have rebounded from the business controversially changing hands earlier this year and announced a partnership with the owner of live music house the Rickshaw Theatre to renovate an old pornographic movie theatre and turn it into a new venue.
The Vancouver Courier reports that Rickshaw owner David Duprey, his business partner Rachel Zottenburg and Waldorf Productions have signed a five-year lease to run the Fox Cinema on Vancouver's Main Street with a five-year option to renew. However, Duprey noted it will be a while before anything gets cracking in the building, located at 2321 Main Street.
"It's disgusting inside," he told the newspaper. "It's been a porno theatre for 20 years… It needs a serious cleaning. All those seats are destroyed and it stinks and so there's a lot of physical work that's got to go in, a lot of elbow grease."
While a name has yet to be decided, Duprey anticipates the new spot will open this fall. The nature of the venue has also yet to be determined — "It can be a live music venue and it can be a club and it can be a comedy stage" — depending on what kind of a liquor licence the city grants the owners. Duprey himself has had troubles with his Rickshaw venue, which recently had to stop holding all-ages shows because of Vancouver's strict liquor laws.
This will be the first major project for Waldorf Productions since the Solterra Group recently bought the Waldorf Hotel and offered to rent it to the then current operators on a week-to-week basis. The move caused a massive stir in the city, with protests taking place at the venue and city hall, but Waldorf Productions ultimately left the building in January.
"The Waldorf, they really bring a lot of culture," Duprey said of his new business partners. "They've got experience with a lot of up-and-coming local artists and a lot of local acts because they did everything at their space. They had such diversity there that I really loved and so I'm really hoping they can help me capture some of that at the space here."
The rebirth of the building marks new beginnings for Vancouver's night-life scene, but an end of an era as well: Fox Cinema was Vancouver's last remaining porn theatre.
The team will take possession of the Fox Cinema on August 1.
The Vancouver Courier reports that Rickshaw owner David Duprey, his business partner Rachel Zottenburg and Waldorf Productions have signed a five-year lease to run the Fox Cinema on Vancouver's Main Street with a five-year option to renew. However, Duprey noted it will be a while before anything gets cracking in the building, located at 2321 Main Street.
"It's disgusting inside," he told the newspaper. "It's been a porno theatre for 20 years… It needs a serious cleaning. All those seats are destroyed and it stinks and so there's a lot of physical work that's got to go in, a lot of elbow grease."
While a name has yet to be decided, Duprey anticipates the new spot will open this fall. The nature of the venue has also yet to be determined — "It can be a live music venue and it can be a club and it can be a comedy stage" — depending on what kind of a liquor licence the city grants the owners. Duprey himself has had troubles with his Rickshaw venue, which recently had to stop holding all-ages shows because of Vancouver's strict liquor laws.
This will be the first major project for Waldorf Productions since the Solterra Group recently bought the Waldorf Hotel and offered to rent it to the then current operators on a week-to-week basis. The move caused a massive stir in the city, with protests taking place at the venue and city hall, but Waldorf Productions ultimately left the building in January.
"The Waldorf, they really bring a lot of culture," Duprey said of his new business partners. "They've got experience with a lot of up-and-coming local artists and a lot of local acts because they did everything at their space. They had such diversity there that I really loved and so I'm really hoping they can help me capture some of that at the space here."
The rebirth of the building marks new beginnings for Vancouver's night-life scene, but an end of an era as well: Fox Cinema was Vancouver's last remaining porn theatre.
The team will take possession of the Fox Cinema on August 1.
