Anger regarding the imminent closure of Oscar’s boiled over during a community forum the evening of Wednesday, July 15, with many supporters pledging to fight to keep the popular downtown Palm Springs restaurant and bar open.
At the forum, Oscar’s owner Dan Gore continued to voice his claims that the entertainment industry powerhouse Oak View Group was to blame for the potential downfall of his business.
On Wednesday, July 8, Gore received a notice to either pay the roughly $130,032 he owes for several months worth of rent or leave the property. But he claims he would not have been behind on rent if he had been able to work with the Plaza Theatre and his landlord, Grit Development.
“Any producer or creative genius is going to know what could be done collaboratively between Oscar’s and the Plaza Theatre,” Gore said during the forum. “I think they see that, but they don’t see it with me in it.”
Last week, Gore went public with his claim that Oak View Group was purposefully not working with Oscar’s to force it out of business so they could take over his space.
Oak View Group, which denies the claim, operates the Plaza Theatre for the city of Palm Springs. Both the Plaza Theatre and Oscar’s share a wall and Gore says certain rooms he leases could be used as a rehearsal space for traveling shows. He also says bathrooms within the Oscar’s building, but connected to the theater through a door, are sought after by Oak View Group.
He had hoped to earn revenue by subleasing the space to the theater, but that did not come to fruition. Oak View Group has denied that it needs extra space from Oscar’s to successfully host shows. And executives have pushed back against Gore’s narrative.
“A historic theatre is always in need of space,” John Bolton, general manager for the theater and senior vice president for Oak View Group, wrote in a statement to The Desert Sun last week. “With this in mind, we expanded our footprint with a local business to include a former storefront on Indian Canyon for our green room, an additional dressing room, and equipment storage which has gotten rave reviews from artists and groups performing on the Plaza Stage.”
On Wednesday, representatives from Oscar’s, Oak View Group and Palm Springs City Hall were invited to a forum moderated by the public relations specialist Kristen Carroll. Only Gore showed up.
The meeting took place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Roughly 50 people attended. Many spoke out against Oak View Group’s treatment of Oscar’s.
The restaurant and bar has become a cherished cultural institution within Palm Springs. It hosts weekly drag shows and tea dances, which are afternoon events that have become a decade’s-long tradition in the gay community.
One of the tea dance regulars, Michael Alexander, spoke about how he did not want to see Oscar’s disappear like other LGBTQ establishments elsewhere in the country.
“I have lived in San Francisco and had two of my beloved clubs close, the Phoenix and Club Universe. I do not want to live through a third,” he said. “I’m a proud tea dancer and, and these people, the city council and Grit and Oak View need to be held accountable.”
Other attendees pledged to continue to organize to try and keep Oscar’s open. However, there may not be much time to spare. At the forum, he said he expected to be served with an eviction notice soon.
But the attendees of the forum hoped to continue to organize to prevent that from happening.
Sam Morgen covers local government for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Anger at potential closure of Oscar’s boils over at community forum
Reporting by Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
