Advertisement Handlebar to close its longtime location as financial troubles loom Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Handlebar, a popular Greenville music venue, has announced it is closing its current location, and according to court documents, there is a lot going on behind the scenes that has contributed to the announcement.The announcement on The Handlebar website Monday morning said the business will close the Stone Avenue location on April 30 and reopen Sept. 15 at a new location.WYFF News 4 has learned that The Handlebar has filed for bankruptcy and the property is in foreclosure, apparently after years of in-fighting between property owners and co-owners of the business.According to court documents, five people, the under the title of Mauldin Investments, own the property that houses the Handlebar. They are also co-owners of The Handlebar.Mauldin Investments claims that The Handlebar stopped paying rent and that’s why the property went into foreclosure. Attorney Kim Keable, who is representing First Federal Bank, the mortgage holder, said the property went into foreclosure in March 2012.The Handlebar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2013, with the most recent filing last Tuesday.The co-owners declined requests for interviews because of the ongoing legal disputes.The Chapter 11 paperwork lists 13 creditors awaiting payment from The Handlebar, including more than $3,000 owed to three advertisers, $5,000 owed to Broadcast Music, Inc., more than $4,000 owed for music licensing, $1,200 owed to an accounting firm and an unspecified amount owed for the lease of the property.According to court documents, The Handlebar’s monthly rent is $5,691.Property owner Charlie Tremonti, who is a part owner of the Handlebar, says The Handlebar has not paid rent since 2012 or property taxes in three years. He says the Handlebar owes more than $127,000 in back rent and at least $18,000 in back taxes. He told WYFF News 4 that The Handlebar signed a 20-year lease that is far from over. He said he has been trying to evict the Handlebar since 2012. He says the property at 304 E. Stone Ave., is listed by Griffin Properties for $895,000, and it is under contract. Who will occupy the property is not known at this time, but it will not be The Handlebar.One of The Handlebar’s owners, John Jeter, who owns 10 percent of the business, declined News 4's request for an interview. Jeter and his wife, Kathy, who also has voting rights, say they stick by the press release that says, “The Handlebar will reopen Sept. 15, 2014 at a new location. Between now and then, The Handlebar plans to pack so much talent and fun into its schedule that people will be talking about it until the unveiling of a new Handlebar.”The announcement on The Handlebar’s website gave the closing date and the date of the planned reopening, but it did not give a location.The website said the music venue first opened in September 1994 at a textile mill on Mills Avenue. It said the business moved to the current venue on Stone Avenue in spring 2001.Dr. Roy S. Fluhrer, director of the Fine Arts Center, said The Handlebar is "one of our region's most respected venues to hear live music from those who have made it and from those on the rise. A place where for those brief hours that we were thrown together, shoulder to shoulder, a real community was established, and for that time, we breathed as one."