thanks for that john... oslo was a cool place and this is sad news... ps ...'sco !? haha i like it
-----Original Message----- >From: John Sokolowski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Dec 28, 2006 11:52 AM >To: [email protected] >Subject: (313) Oslo Detroit Closes > >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. > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get FREE Web site and company branded e-mail from Microsoft Office Live >http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/mcrssaub0050001411mrt/direct/01/ >
