Buster's Billards & Backroom, a Manchester Street bar and concert venue, has closed its doors, maybe for good. The popular midsize venue played host to a wide variety of local, regional and national acts over the past several years.
“Finances have been tight and tricky since I opened five years ago, and it finally all caught up,” said Buster's owner Clark Case. “Nothing is ever permanent, but I've been working on this for months.”
Case said that unresolved problems resulted in the inability to renew the Buster's liquor license, and without that license he had no choice but to close doors. He did say that he has no current plans to wind up the operating LLC and that anything can happen.
In a statement to Business Lexington, Case said, “It's a been a great five years with hundreds of great bands playing to hundreds of thousands of fans from Lexington and beyond. I am personally sorry to everyone this affects, especially because it was so sudden.”
The closure does appear unexpected, as the Buster's website currently lists upcoming shows through February. Case sent out a letter to employees and other interested parties Tuesday night, notifying them and explaining the closure.
Complicating matters further, Buster's may also be the subject of a brewing controversy regarding the 2014 Beaux Arts Ball. In an October 16th email, the organizers of the ball alleged that Buster's had failed to pay funds due to them. The organizers said that they are working with attorneys to resolve the matter. Case had no comment on the matter except to say that he had not been served notice on any legal matter regarding the issue.
Buster's Billiards & Backroom opened at its current location on Manchester Street in the converted Old Tarr Distillery in August of 2009. It originally opened on Main Street in the early nineties, but the block on which it was located was demolished to make way for the CentrePointe development in 2008.