Stacey Behan moved to the Broadway neighborhood on the West End of Providence five months ago because she “fell in love” with the area.
The East Side is too pretentious, she said. Downtown is too expensive.
“This side is artsy,” said the 26-year-old carpenter, a Rhode Island native. “It’s down-to-earth, and it’s affordable.”
In addition, Behan said, the location has one other important attraction – a tiny, dog-friendly neighborhood bar called the Decatur Lounge, which closed its doors last Wednesday due to a legal dispute between the bar owner and the property owner, Jon Ozbek.
Efforts to reach Ozbek last week were unsuccessful.
The Decatur, owned and operated by industry veteran Joann Seddon, opened in July 2001. Since that time it has attracted an eclectic mix of artists, musicians, self-proclaimed anarchists, young professionals, community organizers and dog lovers of all ages.
Since moving to the area, Behan visited Decatur every Tuesday night to play cards with friends.
“It’s become a community thing,” she said. “We’ve met a lot of other people … the thing is; where are we going to go now? We’re not going to Julian’s for a $5 beer.”
The closing came as a shock to Decatur patrons but also to Seddon, who found out she was being evicted five days before she decided to close the bar instead of getting involved in a legal battle.
“It happened so suddenly,” she said, adding the eviction had to do with a “technicality” in the lease.
City Councilman John Lombardi also was surprised by Decatur’s abrupt closing.
“I’ve heard no complaints from police or any neighbors,” he said. “As far as I know there was not excessive noise.”
Seddon said she has no idea what will happen next. She’s not sure what will happen to Decatur’s 10 employees, especially one bartender with breast cancer whom the staff and Seddon have been supporting financially.
There is a possibility she will open somewhere else, she said, but probably not in the same area, and she will not use the Decatur name, because of the sentiment it evokes.
“This is just a building,” she said. “We built a community.”
Lombardi agreed, saying the bar “brought in a fresh new clientele of people that normally wouldn’t be in that area. … It encouraged people to move into the West Broadway neighborhood … it showcased what that area is all about.”
Decatur also played an important role as a venue for fund-raising events.
Marcio Alves, a Decatur patron and 15-year resident of the neighborhood, said the bar raised money for his family after his brother was shot and killed Christmas morning at Club Pulse in South Providence.
Alves sees the Decatur’s closing as just another attempt to turn what used to be a blue-collar family neighborhood into an upscale real estate market for Boston commuters. He said he has seen many families pushed out.
And Alves said he wouldn’t be surprised to see a Starbucks or a Johnny Rockets on Broadway.
Sara Agniel, former owner of Gallery Agniel on North Main Street in Providence, which closed in January, called the Decatur’s closing “the end of an era.”
And patrons are saying they won’t go back to the space should the landlord decide to open a bar in Decatur’s place. They will follow Seddon wherever she opens.
“This is not a sellout crowd,” Behan said.
