Oslo no more
http://metrotimes.com/%5Ceditorial%5Cstory.asp?id=10006
First the sushi was gone, then the dance club went silent. Now the questions
are piling up.
Electronic music aficionados and fans of Japanese food (like the News Hits
staff) are mourning the closing of Oslo, the downtown sushi bar and techno
dance club that is now shuttered, likely forever, according to one of the
owners.
"It was this unique place, because it seems as if in a good majority of
nightlife options in the dance world in Detroit the music is more of a
wallpaper for the social aspects of what's going on instead of being the
main centerpiece," says Rob Theakston, the longtime Detroit electronic
musician who had been scheduled to play Oslo's New Year's Eve show.
Owner Brook Campbell told News Hits the closure resulted from bias against
himself as a gay man, disputes with landlords and threats against his life.
"I immediately realized this is not something I wanted to continue to do,"
he told News Hits last week.
But Theakston says rumors of closure were blowing around for a year. "There
were a lot of different staff changes over a long period of time," he says.
Opened in April 2004, Oslo's menu included the usual sushi bar offerings of
rolls, nigiri, edamame and sashimi. Partners Campbell and Sameer Reddy had
worked for about four years to put the place together, according to
published reports.
But the paper trail of trouble began at least a year ago. According to the
Michigan Liquor Control Commission, at least six checks from Oslo in 2005
were returned for insufficient funds. The club was ordered to pay vendors
with certified checks, cashier's checks, money orders or cash, state records
show.
"I cannot dispute that one, two, three, seven out of a thousand checks
written in the past year have come back, but that's not what's at issue
here," Campbell says.
According to the City of Detroit finance department, the summer tax bill of
$3,640 has not been paid. It was due Aug. 15. Campbell says he had no
knowledge of the missed payment.
The club also has operated with several different business names. According
to the Michigan Department of Consumer and Liability Services, Oslo
Associates LLC, Oslo Detroit LLC, Oslo LLC, and Oslo Inc. have all used the
1456 Woodward Ave. address.
"I think all four are mistaken," Campbell tells News Hits. "The state of
Michigan is not known for never making a mistake."
According to Matt Abbott, a former manager, the club stopped paying him and
at least some other employees several weeks ago. After the sushi chefs quit
in protest, the restaurant closed. The club was open a few more weekends,
but the party ended on the evening of Friday, Dec. 15, when Oslo didn't
open.
"No one can get a positive answer on what's happening," Abbott says.
And that's left Theakston planning a New Year's Eve home with his pug and
reflecting on what Oslo meant to Detroit.
"Oslo was this really unique place where music was given an incredible
amount of credence and room to experiment," Theakston says. "It was so
diverse. One night you would have Kenny Dixon Jr. and Theo Parrish playing
classic 'sco and really obscure house; the next night you would have a gay
night like Sass, and then the night after that Houseshoes would be playing
hip hop down there."
Waitress Ash Nowak, who also was the gallery curator for rotating art
exhibits at Oslo, says she feels sorry for the customers.
"Everyone knew us. Everyone came there, whether it be people that were our
loyal dinner crowd or loyal to the music scene. People always showed up,"
she says.
Owed about $510, Nowak, a Wayne State fine arts major, says she is looking
for work.
"It's been so frustrating. We wanted to help it so much because it's such a
great place," she says.
News Hits is edited by Curt Guyette.
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