BANGOR, Maine — Less than two months after it opened, Diamonds, a gentleman’s club in downtown Bangor featuring female dancers, is facing eviction.
The club, located at 190 Harlow St., is behind on rent and other expenses, according to one of the building landlords, Thomas Brann.
“We are taking the club owners to court,” Brann said Tuesday morning. “We were in court [Monday] for the first hearing.”
Brann said the club’s owners owe him “a little over $34,000” in rent, taxes and heating oil, which the club is responsible for.
Diamonds consultant Jimmie Ellis, who was brought up from Alabama to oversee the theme and construction details for the club, said the club’s owners have filed a lawsuit against Brann due to a disagreement over the terms of the club’s lease.
“We have escrowed our rent rather than pay it to the landlord and the reason is because we’ve spent $80,000 in repairs to bring the building up to code and we’re challenging that amount as money owed to us,” Ellis said by phone from Mobile, Ala. “From our lease terms, it’s our perspective that money is owed back to us, so we’re going to wait and let a judge decide on that. Their reaction to our lawsuit was to serve us with an eviction notice.”
Jim Tower, the manager of Diamonds’ ownership group, Arayos LLC, referred questions to the club’s attorney, Charles Gilbert of Bangor, who was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
“There’s a disagreement in the interpretation of the lease,” Tower said. “That’s all.”
Diamonds opened in late February, six months after Diva’s Gentleman’s Club, which occupied the same location, closed its doors.
“We’re very excited about where the club is and where it’s headed,” said Ellis. “Its projected growth levels are good now. Unfortunately, this is a snafu where we just couldn’t get it worked out between the two parties and we have to take some legal action.”
Diva’s was shut down after it was evicted for nonpayment of rent after an 18-month legal battle with Brann. Diva’s operated from 2008 through August 2011 at the Harlow Street location.
Bangor Daily News writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.
BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Why am I not surprised?
The club owner obviously has “no skin in the game.”
Better get some higher class Divas..
According to the article in the link above, the owner spent $375,000 in renovations in order to open the club. That sure is a lot of coin to spend just to fall behind so quickly!
Wrong, the article states, “we’ve spent $80,000 in repairs to bring the building up to code “.
Your actually the one whose wrong mr iknow2muchsometimes. If you click on the link it would confirm what the OP stated.
Third paragraph, second sentence.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/02/24/news/bangor/diamonds-gentlemans-club-opens-in-bangor/?ref=relatedBox
:) Thank you.
Well, that certainly was a .. bust
Wrong location, they should have been next to the Casino.
Hollywood doesnt want them here either, because when they decide to start bringing up showgirls and shows to the new Arena, they will be in competition…and we wouldnt want our local casino to have any competition now would we?
I bet he pays it all in singles
Not enough “gentlemen” I suppose.
This is Bangor after all.
Ouch.
Well that didn’t take long
lollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Gentlemen’s Club – an oxymoron in this case.
Amen. With or without Christian beliefs this type of business is sad for all IMHO. I mean you have to be one sorry dude to have to pay for it and you have to be one sad female to get up and dance for these dirtbag guys. This is a lose, lose business.
Exactly, its much better to go down to Hollywood Casino and give it away to them…LOL
All men pay for it in one form or another.
And all women charge for it in one way or another.Cash,gas,or grass. No one rides for free.
Stay classy. You’re going to want to delete your history. Your wife will not be impressed.
BUUUUUUUUURP !
I guess I better get my jacket if I’m gonna see this place before it folds.
Can’t say I didn’t see this one coming.
Did we ever find out who the actual club operators are? Who showed up at court?
We hope you keep us abreast of the situation.
I only he is able to get a leg up on the problem, and pay the rent!
Wow, an eviction notice after just 2 months ! The over/under for failure was 14 months.
I’m definitely putting a bob or two on the under for the next group this landlord fishes in.
The BDN missed an opportunity to increase readership by showing some pictures to go with this story. Ol’ Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post would have had a page 6 exclusive of a scantily clad “working” girl.
LOL!!!
I guess there is about as much money as clothes in that business.
Ah yes. Let the puns begin.
I think it’s unfortunate, I think it’s a nice place.
Yeah…couldn’t tell this place would fold in about 10 minutes…
I’ll bet the heating bill was wicked high. It’s got to be pretty warm in a Maine strip club in February and March. One wouldn’t want the girls catching a cold.
You obviously have never been to Woody’s in Greenville when the “girls” are in town. It is usualy pretty nipply in there seeing there is no insulation in the building.
Just rub your legs together
Nobody going to those places should ever be called a “gentleman.”
Somebody is jealous, overweight, and wears pajama pants to Broadway Hannaford…No names mentioned.
Right, because true handsome and cultured gentlemen frequent a seedy strip joint in Bangor.
Got it.
I guess the landlord needs a better vetting process for his tenants!
Maybe the patrons would have tipped more if the women hadn’t take their clothes off.
Thanks—My laugh for the day!—hahaha
I’ve never been there nor intend on going, yet living on the Canadian Border 45 minutes from St George Quebec as a young man, I can assure you this is not a strip club.. it is a gentlemans club.. Saint George and the surrounding towns all had Strip clubs, or Bars as we called them.. 90% of the bars had stages… Jaded to say the least.
This club has to operate according to laws that will prevent it from ever being economically successful. People who go to this type of establishment want alcohol and full nudity. Massachusetts has this.
maybe the owners of this building should try a different sort of business to rent to, seems the last few tenants have no morals…in their business or paying their bills
There is one way right off the bat that they could get a strip joint in Bangor…get Hollywood slots to back it. The town of Bangor wouldn’t even be able to stop it since we owe the casino millions of dollars for the new civic center.
What? No we don’t. It’s paid for with taxes levied on the casinos profits. We don’t owe anything for the building.
what is the disagreement in the interpretation of the lease? You either pay the rent or you don’t.
How is it legal to charge your tenant for property taxes anyway? That’s the first time I have heard of a lease that makes the tenant responsible for the owner’s tax obligation. Ridiculous.
Ultimately, they always pay them.
it’s called triple net or symbolized NNN
It’s a common clause in a commercial lease.
Come to Belfast we love diversity!
Holy cow…$34,00 for being open what, maybe eight weeks? MAYBE they were owing rent for Jan, Feb, Mar? But dang…$34,000? No wonder they can’t pay the rent. That’s practically incestuous.
Next time I’m in Bangor, maybe I’ll go (never knew they were there before this article), and throw the guy a few bucks.
Their consultant says they ARE paying the rent – into an escrow account – which is normal in a landlord/tenant dispute. That’s what he says, anyway.
Ahhhh…Thanks for the clarification…
Never enough money to support the performing arts.
Seems to me, COMMUNICATION was the problem all along, beginning with the terms of the contract and the signing of the contract. Now, this goes to court where the case will be discussed and most likely decided by a judge. But, notwithstanding the contract and all, is Bangor really ready for a “Gentleman’s Club”? To us, this is just another bar in pretty surroundings made to appear like some quasi-living room with what can be considered “pretty” girls dancing and gyrating around for the men to see.
Something is wrong with this picture. I mean the entire operation. Was this just a business scheme to liquidate the business from the beginning (unbeknown to the Bangor building owners) or scam the ownership of the building in little Bangor, Maine or what? Better check into the backgrounds here, Judge, or you may be caught in the middle of something. For a business to be open only a few weeks then this issue comes up with escrow funds, building upgrading, past-due rent, and out-of-state ownership of the club, I smell something!
Why does the Landlord just quit allowing “Gentlemen s Clubs” open? He seems to keep taking owners of these establishments to court. It is a good business model, let unsuccessful businesses open knowing you won’t get a dime in rent, then, when behind on rent, take them to court for eviction, after your building is brought up to code.
Psst..have you seen how many vacant buildings there are in Bangor? The Union St and Broadway Movie Gallery slots have been vacant for near 3 years now. That location is not what anyone would call prime real estate so one cannot be too choosey who they rent to when they come asking. I do think there is defintely something fishy going on with the landlord though.
I find it amusing that everyone sides for the Landlord and not the tenant simply because of the nature of the business. Two tenants, less than an year, same issue? I don’t agree with the type of business this is but if you don’t like it don’t go simple as that. However I do believe this raises some red flags on the landlords part … just sayin…
Gentlemen’s Clubs in some cities can be very entertaining, in nice facilities and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, when you live in a small sized city the pretty local girls won’t dance there because everyone and their grandma will know all about their every move. I am sure many are judging their experiences on what Maine has/had to offer…Diva’s, La Casa, Platinum (PT’s).
This is serious ! My grandmother is going to lose her dancing gig.
Please do not use the word ‘gentleman’ in your description of these places in the future. You are sending the wrong impression to little ears that overhear adult conversation.
Now I’m confused -I have been looking for a ‘lady’ of the night to open a door for- perhaps my schriveled wee isn’t dead.
Call it what it is: A strip club!
Sounds to me like the owner of the building is just trying to take advantage of all the renovations and upgrades by evicting and releasing for a higher price. Then again, if you sign a lease before the building is up to code and fork over the money without having it in the lease to escrow expenses, thats your problem.
If thats the case, pay your bills.
SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!!NOT
Not sure what a “satellie stage” shown in the picture is……..But if that is what the women dance on it is not designed for a real Maine woman.
2 strip clubs, 3 bars in 3 years and all have failed miserably. It just might be time to realize the business isn’t the best location for that type of business. The Tattoo parlor seems to work, maybe they wnt to pick up another 5k square feet.
I would say rent it out as office space but probably not many clients would want to walk by a tattoo parlor to get to their lawyer, insurance agent, accountant or anything professional.