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Despite fears that it would be developed into condos, the famed El Mocambo tavern appears to have been saved at the 11th hour by a buyer with intentions to keep it open.

“I think it’s their intent to keep it going as a music venue — which is good, everybody wants that,” said Neil H. Warshafsky, real estate broker for the El Mocambo’s current owners.

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Mr. Warshafsky would not confirm who the buyer is, but said it is someone “that people will know.”

On Thursday night, the El Mocambo is hosting Light of Day, a Parkinson’s disease benefit concert that owner Sam Grosso had pegged as the venue’s “last stand.”

He first announced the bar’s pending closure in September, and in the weeks since he has taken to Facebook to invite local bands to book a weeknight performance to “say they played on the stage.”

The new buyer has submitted a deposit cheque for the property, but nothing has been released about how or when the venue will be reopened after it closes this week.