Good Will to say goodbye

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This article was published 22/11/2023 (1006 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Good Will Social Club will close its doors in February, ending a nearly decade-long run on Portage Avenue as one of Winnipeg’s most important independent music venues.

Ownership cited the rising cost of living, the ongoing impact of the pandemic and rent that topped $10,000 a month as contributing factors for the decision, announced Wednesday afternoon in an Instagram post.

“It’s a decision we’ve been mulling over the past 10 months,” says Cam Loeppky, one of the venue’s four co-owners. “Every month, we thought we could fix the problems, but the hole was just too deep.”

Loeppky co-owns the venue with Mike Requiema, Anthony Kowalczyk and Donavan Robinson, and has been with the venue since it opened in October 2014 with a mission to fill a gap in the city’s live music scene as an artist-centred space.

While it’s become known for its karaoke and trivia nights, along with several restaurants — A Little Pizza Heaven, Have A Nice Day, Khao House and Primo’s Deli (which recently announced its departure from the space) — operating on site, the Good Will has been an essential small-to-midsize music venue for an eclectic lineup of concerts and dance parties.

With a capacity of 250, the venue was able to play host to legacy acts such as Canadian pop-rock quartet Sloan or guitarist Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, but has been an especially valuable performance space for up-and-coming Manitoba artists.

Hundreds of artists had their first shows there, the venue serving as a vital place for fans to discover new performers at an affordable ticket price. It also offered a crucial midsize room for touring artists.

The venue was among the earliest adopters in the city of safer-space policies, and its single-stall bathrooms — though legendarily grimy and graffiti-coated — were always gender-neutral.

When the pandemic struck, the venue was forced to close, leading the ownership group to consider shutting down as early as the spring of 2020. The owners started a GoFundMe to keep the club running through difficult times, raising just shy of $60,000.

But the impact of the pandemic was a blow the venue had trouble recovering from, even with the community support, Loeppky says. The club was operating at a deficit, “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

“After the pandemic, nobody was going out. The cost of living is so high now, so people have to ask, ‘Do I go out and buy groceries, or do I go out and party for a night?’”

“The cost of living is so high now, so people have to ask, ‘Do I go out and buy groceries, or do I go out and party for a night?’”–Cam Loeppky

Performers and patrons were disappointed and shocked by the announcement.

“The Good Will was absolutely a staple in our community,” wrote singer Amos Nadlersmith of indie band Amos the Kid, who worked at the bar for the venue’s first three years. “I’ve seen so many of my favourite bands there. We are losing an absolutely incredible place.”

“The best place to be every weekend,” Emma Murphy, lead singer of Julien’s Daughter, commented on the Good Will’s Instagram post.

Adam Soloway, the venue’s longtime concert booker and a co-founder of Real Love Winnipeg, was initially at a loss for words.

“The Good Will is like a community centre for artists and music lovers, and will be nearly impossible to replace,” he tells the Free Press.

“It’s the spot in town where everyone wanted to play, and will be missed by so many,” he adds.

The Good Will is exploring options for its future, the venue’s social media post said.

“While it’s true that our time in our current space is coming to an end, we believe that this is not a final goodbye,” it reads, adding, “we have carefully considered our options and believe it is time to seek new adventures outside of our current location.”

The ownership did not offer specifics as to what those new adventures may be.

Loeppky says that the venue will operate as usual until Feb. 1, and will work with artists who had shows booked past that date to figure out alternate plans. Shows are currently on the venue’s calendar as late as May.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com

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