A large piece of San José’s indie scene is going to disappear at the end of this year.
Beloved comic book shop, cafe and music venue Art Boutiki is closing its curtains after 16 years of hosting local bands in their spaces, according to an Aug. 12 Instagram post by the organization.
The venue is for all ages and has hosted local and touring bands on Race Street, about two miles West from San José State, according to its website.
Bands like Bones Shredder, Ghost, Pacing, friendship games and numerous others have played during its 16 years as a stage in two different locations.
Frank Holt, a volunteer for Art Boutiki, said the highlight of his experience has been the many different types of people he’s been able to meet within the last 15 years.
“We’ve seen many different types of people walk through the door from poor to exceptionally wealthy and all in between,” Holt said. “ … (Art Boutiki) was the place to be in San José.”
Founded in 1986 as a comic book publishing company named Slave Labor Graphics Publishing and became a live music venue after the owner started booking local bands to play in its improved warehouse space after the 2008 recession, according to the venue’s website.
Dan Vado, the owner of Art Boutiki, explained in an Instagram post that the business never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and that utility costs were making the business unsustainable.
“Imagine you went to work every day for five years – did your job – not only did you not get paid you had to pay for the privilege of doing it,” Vado said. “That’s why I’m closing it, it’s just not sustainable.”
He said the business is losing money hands-over-fists and that too many people walk in for their first time even though they’ve been open for 16 years.
Vado is looking for $70,000 on GoFundMe to pay for unpaid rent, utilities and the restoration of the building from its use as a music venue, according to the GoFundMe page.
“I need an actual ‘j-o-b’ you know?” Vado said. “We’re going out of here gonna be owing money.”
The venue is continuing to host bands and performances until they close, with its last show set for Dec. 31 featuring The Sick Ones, according to its website.
The future loss of Art Boutiki will remove its name from the list of indie music venues in San José that tailor to local artists, according to an Aug. 14 San José Today article.
Kevin Ryan, a guitar player for a band named Family Obligation has worked at the venue for the last four years running sound and production management.
Family Obligation is a four-member band with 716 monthly listeners on Spotify, according to the band’s page on the streaming service.
“It’s just incredibly generous of him to be so giving of himself and his money to just let this place operate and be like a platform for people,” Ryan said. “I can’t believe it’s even been five years since he’s taken any money.
