Venerable rock club This Ain’t Hollywood sold
New owner open to keeping James North bar as a concert venue
Iconic Hamilton rock club This Ain’t Hollywood has been sold following an 11-year run of bringing live entertainment to James Street North.
The two-storey building, located at the corner of James North and Murray streets, was first put up for sale in November 2018, with a $2.1 million asking price. It had since been reduced to a listed sale price of $1.5 million.
Co-owner Lou Molinaro said the purchase offer, from a group called Amaprop Canada Inc., came as a surprise because the club has been closed since March 16 (the club’s weekly bingo night) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deal is set to close in August.
“It happened so fast, it’s kind of surreal,” said Molinaro, who announced the sale Sunday evening. “It was a generous offer considering we’re in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis.” Amaprop is a Toronto-based property investment firm, operated by Stephen Colville-Reeves. It also owns property on Barton
Street East, and Colville-Reeves is on the board of the Barton Village BIA.
Adrian Mekli, Amaprop’s agent in the purchase, said Sunday the new owners want to convert the top floor into modern apartments but has no plans for the first-floor bar at this time.
“The group is open to any use on the ground floor, including a café, restaurant, retailer or maintaining it as a concert venue,” Mekli said. “However, the group has no interest in managing a concert venue itself. They are open to all ideas and willing to hear from interested parties.”
The current owners of the 127-year-old property at 345 James St. N. are Molinaro, Glen and Jodie Faulman, and Doug Malcolm. The club was named after the title of a 1982 song by Hamilton punk band The Forgotten Rebels.
Molinaro admitted the pandemic had put added stress on an already tough business. He and his partners were concerned about what would happen when the club would be allowed to reopen.
“How do you rebound from this COVID-19 thing?” he asked. “It’s a hard
business and it’s getting harder.”
Molinaro hopes to put on a series of final shows at This Ain’t Hollywood before the club closes in August.
This Ain’t Hollywood opened on June 13, 2009 after Molinaro and his partners purchased the two-storey building in April of that year for $317,000.
The club quickly became a key player in the artistic revival of James Street North.
During its 11-year-run, This Ain’t Hollywood hosted established acts like Maria Muldaur, Robert Gordon, Chris Spedding, Hugh Cornwell, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Teenage Head, The Forgotten Rebels and Blue Coupe, as well as serving as launch pad for up-and-coming local acts like Arkells, Monster Truck and Terra Lightfoot.
The club was also a venue for the annual Supercrawl arts and music festival on James Street North. Supercrawl organizer Tim Potocic described This Ain’t Hollywood as one of the top rock and roll bars in the country.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Potocic, who is also co-owner of downtown music venue Mills Hardware. “We just lost our rock and roll jewel. It’s really hard to believe to be honest. A great team of people built it and now it’s going to be gone.”
The club, when operational, employs about 15 part-time staff.
“Everybody is kind of sad,” Molinaro said. “We became family. There won’t be another bar like this.”
The building has a long history as a tavern, dating back to 1893 when it opened as the McKenzie House. In the 1960s, it was the Turbinia House and later Copper John’s.
“It’s heartbreaking. We just lost our rock and roll jewel. It’s really hard to believe to be honest. A great team of people built it and now it’s going to be gone.”
TIM POTOCIC
SUPERCRAWL