After it went up for lease last July, London, ON bar and live music venue Call the Office is now under new ownership.
A video from the London Free Press reveals Darren Quinn as the venue's new owner. The clip finds Quinn, who previously owned Toronto's Hard Luck Bar, shedding light on plans to "[resuscitate] this wonderful, historic live music venue."
"For the most part, it's just upgrading the building; the equipment, the operations for a better guest experience, for the artists, the patrons, for the music fans and for the staff, so that everybody has the things they need to work at a high level and have some great nights," Quinn explained.
As for a timeline on the improvements, Quinn added, "We're getting into summer, so bands want to play, we want to have them, people want to see them. So we're just going to keep it rolling and do it as we go without disrupting anything majorly."
Call the Office went up for lease last July, with former co-owner Tony Lima writing that the decision came after "other shareholders, and the guy who holds our mortgage privately, feel the need to test the markets and see what options are available to them."
That July, Lima also started a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising money for venue repairs and maintenance. The campaign raised a total of $16,660.
Call the Office has been a fixture of London's live music scene since 1983. The venue has hosted the likes of Radiohead, Green Day, Blink-182, the Tragically Hip, Melvins, Teenage Head, the Sadies, PUP, Jeff Rosenstock and many more.
"There's a big place in people's hearts in London for this venue," Quinn said in the video. "We have no intention of doing anything other than taking the legacy that was built already, and [trying] to add our stamp on it."
A video from the London Free Press reveals Darren Quinn as the venue's new owner. The clip finds Quinn, who previously owned Toronto's Hard Luck Bar, shedding light on plans to "[resuscitate] this wonderful, historic live music venue."
"For the most part, it's just upgrading the building; the equipment, the operations for a better guest experience, for the artists, the patrons, for the music fans and for the staff, so that everybody has the things they need to work at a high level and have some great nights," Quinn explained.
As for a timeline on the improvements, Quinn added, "We're getting into summer, so bands want to play, we want to have them, people want to see them. So we're just going to keep it rolling and do it as we go without disrupting anything majorly."
Call the Office went up for lease last July, with former co-owner Tony Lima writing that the decision came after "other shareholders, and the guy who holds our mortgage privately, feel the need to test the markets and see what options are available to them."
That July, Lima also started a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising money for venue repairs and maintenance. The campaign raised a total of $16,660.
Call the Office has been a fixture of London's live music scene since 1983. The venue has hosted the likes of Radiohead, Green Day, Blink-182, the Tragically Hip, Melvins, Teenage Head, the Sadies, PUP, Jeff Rosenstock and many more.
"There's a big place in people's hearts in London for this venue," Quinn said in the video. "We have no intention of doing anything other than taking the legacy that was built already, and [trying] to add our stamp on it."