World Cafe Live at The Queen to close in May

Wilmington venue World Cafe Live at The Queen will close on May 25th, 2017.

According to a statement from founder and president Hal Real:

It has been an honor for us to ‘light up the Queen,’ as part of an inspiring public-private partnership that brought her majesty back to life in 2011 as a world-class entertainment, dining and events venue. We are proud of the role we have played as a catalyst for revitalizing downtown Wilmington, although we had hoped the downtown renaissance would have grown at a more rapid pace. Despite our best efforts to make the Queen a seven-day-a-week operation, we have not been able to generate the revenue required to sustain such an ambitious business model over the past six years.

Between now and May 25, World Cafe Live at the Queen will continue to present great shows and events, including Marc Broussard, Mothership, Gad Elmaleh, KT Tunstall, this year’s Shine A Light concert fundraiser benefitting the Light Up the Queen Foundation, JD McPherson, Modern Baseball, the Subdudes, James McMurtry, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Carbon Leaf, Drive By Truckers and a few more to be announced soon. To celebrate WCL’s role as a “clubhouse” for the local music community, on May 25 there will be a free final show featuring performances by many of the Brandywine Valley’s most cherished groups and performers.

Real added:

The company will focus its efforts and continue to operate its ever-popular original venue World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. The company also plans to launch “World Cafe Live Presents” an initiative, presenting World Cafe Live concerts and other events at other venues in the Philadelphia and Wilmington markets, and outside the region. “The ‘World Cafe Live Presents’ offsite concept is one that has intrigued us for years and we’re excited to start pursuing those opportunities,” says talent buyer Christianna LaBuz.

However, live music does remain in the cards for the majestically renovated space in downtown Wilmington. According to a report by the Wilmington News-Journal‘s Damien Giletto and Ryan Cormier, developer Chris Buccini of the Buccini/Pollin Group, which oversaw the redevelopment of The Queen, will bring in new management to keep it a theater. Buccini expects to release more information this afternoon.