Will Financial Help for Arlene's Grocery Arrive in Time to Save the Stage?

Last we heard, veteran New York City music venue Arlene's Grocery (95 Stanton Street) was scheduled to close February 1 unless a new line of revenue came into place. On November 27, Arlene’s Grocery posted online an urgent plea for support.

On January 7, 2021, D'Angelico Guitars responded by donating $15,000 to help keep Arlene's Grocery afloat. The guitar manufacturer and retailer challenged the public to contribute another $15,000. If the public complies, D'Angelico promises to contribute yet another $15,000.

Previously, D'Angelico Guitars awarded $7,000 to the Bitter End. The company will announce support for additional venues in the next several weeks.

KillCode at Arlene's Grocery on January 29, 2020

Many of the live music venues that have remained closed for the past 10 months have led crowd-sourcing efforts, merchandising and benefit concerts. Arlene's Grocery will host a fund-raising live stream featuring many of the bands that performed there regularly until the closing nearly a year ago. Honor among Thieves, Jane Lee Hooker, Killcode, Snake Canyon, and Thornes will be among the performers. The venue will announce the date and time of the live stream soon.

Hot Garbage from Canada was among the last acts to perform at Arlene's Grocery

Arlene's Grocery opened in 1995 and presented rock bands nightly until the pandemic hit in March 2020 and shuttered all nightlife. The venue closed towards the end of the week-long New Colossus Festival, which was bringing new music acts from around the world to New York stages.

Hoorsees from France at Arlene's Grocery on March 13, 2020

Beginning this past summer, Arlene's Grocery partially reopened. The venue offered outdoor seating and sold to-go drinks and souvenir merchandise from its window, but presented no live entertainment. Arlene's Grocery posted playlists on Spotify in May 2020 and in November launched a YouTube channel featuring Jeff Buckley, the Strokes, Saosin and other music acts that got their start at the venue. The venue also posted a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $80,000; to date, the fundraiser has generated $51,241.

Luke De-Sciscio of the United Kingdom at Arlene's Grocery on March 13, 2020

Will the Save Our Stages provide the remaining funds necessary to keep Arlene's Grocery and similar music venues in business? The Save Our Stages website reports the following vague progress.

The NIVA Emergency Relief Fund was launched to raise money for our most vulnerable venues, and keep them afloat while we wait on Congress. The fund will be administered by The Giving Back Fund, a separate non-profit that will collect the money and oversee the application process for venues to receive grants from the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund.

Now that the Save Our Stages Act has been passed as part of the upcoming COVID-19 Relief Bill, NIVA hopes to work with the Small Business Administration to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress intended. Since it could take many weeks, even months for the funding to flow, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund continues to raise money to assist the venues at greatest risk of permanently going under as we wait for the grants to be issued.

With further aid, Arlene's Grocery, which was reportedly on life support in November, soon may be transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit.

Swallow the Rat from New Zealand at Arlene's Grocery
on what would become its closing night, March 14, 2020