Delmar Lounge Closes, Owner Vows to Reopen

The closed quietly Sunday night. A posting on the restaurant's Facebook page alerted patrons to a final performance by Jesse Gannon and the Truth.

On Tuesday, owner Blake Ashby told members of the Loop Special Business District that rumors about the Lounge's demise were untrue and that he wants to reopen in a new location.

"People are saying we operated without a licence for a year and a half," he said. "That isn't true."

Ashby said the confusion came from his transferring the license to the Delmar's General Manager Phil Ingram. 

"The paperwork was filed and when we went to renew six months later, the city said we didn't have the paperwork," he said. "We cleared that up and went through two cycles of licensing until they came back earlier this year and said they didn't have the information."

Ashby added that he could have fought back harder, but said he realizes that the Loop has changed around the Delmar in the past 15 years.

"When we started we were at the far east end," he said. "It's not the place for a 3 a.m. bar now." 

Ashby said he would look for a new location for the Delmar Lounge, noting the jazz club had made it through the worst of the recession and was "on an uptick" before this.

"The Delmar has been a fixture here for 15 years," he said. "It's the second oldest jazz club in the area."