Venue owners in Fremantle are feeling the pain that the owners of music spaces in Sydney have been feeling for some months now. They claim they’ve been “unfairly forced out” of their space due to an “exorbitant” jump in rent.
As The West Australian reports, Fremantle’s Markets Bar, a beloved part of the Fremantle Markets which in the past has hosted the likes of John Butler Trio and Eskimo Joe, is closing down after rent on the space jumped 38 percent.
Paul and Michelle Abbott have been stallholders at the Fremantle Markets for more than a decade, but were forced to close their doors for good earlier this week after failing to agree on new lease terms with Fremantle Markets Pty Ltd (FMPL).
Taking to Facebook, the couple accused market management of trying to profit at the expense of a venue intended to be “a place where people can meet, sit down and rest in between shopping in the markets… [and] enjoy live music entertainment”.
In a letter sent to Fremantle council, Mr Abbott said the pair had been “unfairly forced out of our stall” after being offered a rent of $91,370 per annum or $96,050 once an additional fee for public holidays was factored in.
“Back in 2008 when there was much discussion regarding the new markets head lease, the main regard from all the conversation was the stallholder’s wellbeing would be maintained,” he wrote.
“FMPL promised many times that the markets would remain a low cost environment where small family run businesses would survive and thrive selling local craft, produce and arts, etc. these stalls would continue to get concessions so that they would remain commercially viable.”
“The couple accused market management of trying to profit at the expense of the venue.”“Michelle and I bought into those promises and having promoted live local musicians to entertain the customers of the bar, we believe this little business has put in over $500,000 into the pockets of local artists over the last 10 years.”
“Artists such as John Butler, The Waifs, The Jam Tarts, Eskimo Joe, The Kill Devil Hills and many more have all at one time or another played or shared a few drinks whilst watching their friends play in the Markets Bar.”
“Not forgetting the kids with a guitar, a dream and some talent, a chance to showcase their stuff performing in front of a live family friendly audience.”
The loss of the Market Bar comes at a time when locals are calling for more live music venues in WA to nurture homegrown talent and follows the closure of other much-loved venues like The Bakery and Ya Ya’s.
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In a statement to the West Australian, FMPL chief executive Natasha Atkinson said management was disappointed to hear of the Market Bar’s closure but believed there had been “miscommunication” about the historic nature of the previous lease agreement.
“It’s important for other tenants, customers and the markets community generally to understand that the subsidised rental rate for the lessee of stall 33 was an historical agreement that took market opening hours into consideration,” she said.
“It recognised that the Markets Bar’s busiest trading period has typically been Friday evenings, with the Markets closing at 8pm. Regrettably, this was not a sustainable arrangement, which was why the management of Fremantle Markets had been proactive in suggesting an alternative.”
Ms Atkinson said management offered to relocate the venue to another part of the markets. “We thank the lessee of stall 33 for their contribution to the Markets over several years and wish them every future success,” she concluded.
