Punk music hall, dive bar to close in Oak Park this fall
The Colony concert venue and its adjoined Colonial Cafe will close Nov. 17, according to a Facebook post by owner Matthew Marrujo on Thursday.
Crowds of all ages showed up for ska, reggae, punk and metal concerts at 3522 Stockton Blvd. over the last five years, and a nearby kitchen cooked up pub food and weekend brunch while servers brought beers and coffee to show-goers. Colonial Cafe also had arcade-style video games free to anyone who bought something, and hosted gaming tournaments from time to time.
“This was not an easy choice to make,” Marrujo wrote. “This place is my home and the people here are my family. With constant change and lack of funds it has been almost impossible to make the kind of money we need to keep going. Benefit shows and (patron support) have helped us up to this point, but it is still not enough.”
The Colony is the most recent casualty in a string of underground concert hall closures over the last two years. Starlite Lounge shut down last June, while the Red Museum and Naked Lounge each closed in 2017 before re-opening this year.
A Sacramento News & Review article titled “Punk venue hit with hard times” detailed The Colony’s financial maladies last September, including a California Labor Commission crackdown on staffing Colonial Cafe with volunteers. In the article, Marrujo admitted he thought he would have had to close in July 2017.
“I know a lot of people will probably be thinking that (I) should sell, but there is nothing to sell,” Marrujo wrote in his Facebook post. “The closing date goes hand in hand with expiring permits. And (I) wish to keep the brand (intact).”
All planned shows will still take place, though Marrujo said he wouldn’t book any additional shows before the closing date.