WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Garage, one of Winston-Salem’s oldest music venues, will suspend operations Jan. 1, the owner has announced, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Tucker Tharpe, the owner, said in a email to the city’s business community that its last show will be the annual New Year’s Eve concert featuring the band The Genuine.
“The closure will be indefinite until we re-evaluate our business plan to find a new and better way of enriching the musical arts of North Carolina,” Tharpe said. “We hope that everyone reading this is growing and changing all the time. The Garage is growing and changing, it’s not done. So … stay tuned for what’s next.”
The Garage, which is at 110 W. Seventh St., opened in September 1999 and became one of the city’s premier clubs. It has served as an intimate live-performance venue and nightclub. The club brought in national acts and served as a stage for local musicians.
After it opened, other music venues sprang up in downtown. The Garage, a former welding shop, was sold in May 2012 to Tharpe and his business partner Brian Cole. Richard Emmett started the business as a licensed music venue in 2000.
Read full story: The Winston-Salem Journal