A young, handsome California investor. In-house talent
from Chicago. Movie stars flown in from the coasts. Flawless (and expensive)
branding and marketing campaign. Generous compensation packages. A half-million
dollar West End residence for performers.
The Monocle launched last year, and LGBT St. Louis had
never seen such an opulent entrance. Investors and staff aimed to give the city
an upscale nightlife option, with finely crafted cocktails and world-class
entertainment, and then with the St. Louis venue as the flagship, they envisioned
launching in select cities nationwide.
The community, not known for quickly embracing
outsiders or change, stayed true to form. There was grumbling about the price
of cocktails (Monocle’s rail cocktails are call at competing bars), and
controversy soon erupted when a bartender held over from the prior
establishment was dismissed for his resistance to the signature craft
cocktails, instead suggesting patrons stick with quickly sloshed together
standards like rum and coke. When he was let go he claimed the bar was ageist -
a rumor that quickly gained traction. To top it off a notoriously dishonest drag
queen up the block kept claiming there was a $30 cover, which was also bad for
business.
But the Monocle was so well funded, the story went,
that they could sustain major losses in the first year without worry.
Then the checks began to bounce, leading to embezzlement accusations and legal maneuvering.
The
Idea Man
2015 started strong for Kyle Hustedt, proprietor of
Chicago’s “The Cabaret Project” theatre company. First he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial with Jennifer Hudson (0:17) and then received an unexpected business proposition from
a former associate he hadn’t seen in ages.
Three years earlier he’d written a business plan for
his dream establishment, and a friend showed it to a man I’ll call “Investor X.”
Now Investor X was interested in making his dream come true.
Kyle had never even set foot in St. Louis before he
flew in to check out the space and get a feel for the community. When he
returned to Chicago he told his friend, mentor, and fellow performer Amy Armstrong
that he needed to follow his dream, and much to his surprise she offered to
join him.
They packed up their lives and relocated to the plush
West End residence purchased for in-house and traveling entertainers.
All
Hail Harrison & Jolene GOTCHA
Harrison Roberts was one of the most well-known and
well-liked bar managers in town when he was approached with what seemed like
the opportunity of a lifetime: more money, a calmer bar with better hours, and
a small ownership stake. The father of newborn twins thought it was the right
decision for his family.
Jolene felt she finally found her niche at the
Monocle, except for one coworker who, according to Harrison, “hates her with
the intensity of a thousand suns.” The coworker had a short fuse and regularly exploded about everyday issues like dropping a glass or getting locked out.
Jolene was able to navigate around him, for the most part, and really enjoyed
her job.
About seven partners own the Monocle and all have
ironclad nondisclosure clauses, so nobody would go on record, although several
met with me – including one clandestine meeting at the closed bar on a Sunday.
Video showed we missed being discovered by one of the other partners by ten
minutes – and we were discovered by
Kyle.
Since she was just an employee, Jolene offered on-the-record
insights. According to her, and contrary to the founding documents, Investor X never actually invested anything – and he
spent money on personal expenses like mad. It all came to light when he went missing for a few days
and Harrison had to figure out how to do payroll. Not only was there no money
in the reserve account, the business was about $60k in the red.
“It was like a family
member was dying and we called the family in. Even one manager that had left us
previously. There were so many tears. Finally we were paid and promised it
wouldn't happen again. The next check came almost on time. Then it all fell
apart.” – Jolene recalled.
Harrison felt he was out of time, and the best thing
to do was cut his losses and move on. He was followed soon after by Kyle, who
returned to Chicago in financial ruin.
Gallows
Humor
The plan as I understand it is to get Investor X out,
and replace him with an investor-in-waiting. Meanwhile employees haven’t been
paid in weeks, and gallows humor has set in. One regular customer only had one
olive in his martini and said, “Wow, you really are cutting back!” and famed
pianist Ron Bryant reportedly grabbed a couple of Monocle gift cards and
exclaimed, “Better use ‘em quick folks!”
Holding
On
“I would say as a
conclusion this situation has caused Kyle to move back to Chicago to find work
and Harrison to quit, leaving James [Dunse] to run the place. Working night and
day diligently trying to find a solution. James left a career to come here. Not
only that, but a part time job of eleven years at Just John. We all believed in
this place so much. That's why we can't seem to let go,” said Jolene.
Kyle still has his
ownership stake, and still believes in the venue – especially his beloved
Emerald Room, which is the theatre portion of the club. “Not only is there
nothing like it in St. Louis, many performers have said there’s nothing like it
in the country. It’s the attention to detail, the upgraded lighting and sound
system, that has entertainers saying they wish they had a space like it in New
York or Los Angeles.”
Should the partners
get their legal issues ironed out, maybe St. Louis would finally embrace The Monocle.
After all, many didn’t like them because they “thought they were better than
everyone” with their expensive drinks and shows that cost money to see. They
were outsiders, but they’ve now been initiated, been run through the rumor
mill, have had their dirty laundry aired, and have been taken down a peg. The
St. Louis LGBT community can’t forgive pretension, but look around the Grove.
God knows we can forgive anything else.
The entire saga has
given The Monocle the one critical ingredient needed to be one of us: character.
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