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Modernist downtown club No Vacancy Lounge will close its doors permanently following this weekend’s planned shows, The Portland Mercury first reported. Co-owner Rick Sheinin told Eater PDX that the impending closure is due to financial and emotional distress over a 14-month period of conflict with neighboring tenants, landlords, and property manager Melvin Mark. No Vacancy reportedly signed a lease that guaranteed its right to have live music and other loud entertainment, while an agency upstairs from the bar had previously signed a lease that includes clauses of relative quiet. Due to ongoing legal battles, Eater PDX was unable to view the leases in question.
Sheinin says he and his team had invested over a million dollars into the club, designing and building out a space that had sat vacant for eight years; the co-owner claims the building was “decrepit and not something someone could just move into.” He believes the landlord manipulated the club’s ownership team into investing, only to force them back out again and re-sell the space — sentiments he declared publicly in a Facebook post late Thursday night.
In the Mercury story, Melvin Mark says they have no ownership interest in No Vacancy’s building, leasing it for a third party. Eater Portland has attempted to contact Lauren Louise LLC, the listed owner on Portland Maps, for comment; stay tuned for more updates.
Sheinin and his partners are currently trying to find a home for the 40-odd bands and music acts scheduled at No Vacancy, saying the club might return to its original state as a pop-up party series. No Vacancy will run three more shows, including now free shows on Saturday and Tuesday, before closing. The bar was an attempt to bring in a more diverse group of ages and income levels to the busy Downtown club district with a mixture of local acts, live music, and DJs.
