DeKalb’s live music scene has struggled in recent years. Popular venues have been boarded up or changed hands. The House Cafe is moving forward with plans to fill a void for music fans. WNIJ's Carl Nelson interviewed the Cafe's newest owner.
Carl Nelson - "The House Cafe has been a staple of downtown DeKalb’s scene in the 15 years since its launch. It’s had its share of ownership changes in that time as well. The House Cafe began with original owner, Sven Hansen, in 2001 who eventually sold the building to NIU professor and guitarist Fareed Haque in 2005. Since then, Haque has leased the first floor and basement levels of the building to several different owners. This past fall, Mark and Martha Robinson stepped up to fill the void left when previous lease-holders Alex and Brian Fausett bowed out after financial difficulties. The Robinsons own another business in the area…"
Mark Robinson - “Two and a half, almost three years ago we purchased Karshone’s Hometown Cafe in Malta, right on 38, Route 38 there, little red building on the South side of Lincoln Highway, which is now Martha’s Kitchen; we’ve been running that ever since.”
CN - "Music has always been at the heart of The House Cafe, and the Robinsons are a musical family, to say the least."
MR - “We have four kids, three of them are still in the local school system. They are all actually— except for our youngest— all involved in music in one form or another. Lars played tuba in high school, Lydia is a dancer and played violin, our eleven year-old plays piano and violin.”
CN - "...and that's just the kids."
MR - “Martha, she used to play tuba in high school, she’s a bassoonist, she has her master’s degree in bassoon from NIU. She teaches piano and she plays accordion with our band, The Great Influence Machine, as well as sing and play keyboards with our band, Creators of the Masterverse. We are both principals for the Kishwaukee Symphony and the DeKalb Municipal, we’re involved non-profit wind sextet that focuses on music outreach, especially for children.”
CN - "You get the idea. The decision to take over the House Cafe wasn’t an impulse decision. They had contemplated it during previous lapses in ownership."
MR - “We had actually to get involved between when the last owners and the Fausetts, but we were just a little behind the ball on that, and so we had just always had that idea. Strangely enough, because we missed that opportunity, we found the opportunity for Martha’s Kitchen, which I think helped us set up for this time and place. It really struck me as the right time and the right place for us to try to do this. I feel like it really is helping provide something for the community, so that helps motivate me to do the best I can for the House.”
CN - "As every owner of the House Cafe has done, they implemented their own changes and upgrades."
MR - “We completely revamped the stage, in that I have purchased all LED lighting, which is capable of every color, strobing— it’s a very versatile system. A lot of people have said they really enjoyed the exciting aspect of that, and how it makes it— especially the performers— it makes them feel like they’re “big time”, and that improves their performance. As far as the sound system, we went to an all-digital board, an all-digital system, which helps simplify some of the complications that can be involved when you have a large analog system and different pieces going into that.”
CN -" ...and that all sounds like it would make for an easy new rollout to the public, but the Robinsons weren’t able to just hit the ground running. There was an empty events calendar that needed to be filled FAST. and, there was the biggest challenge of all:"
MR - “One other huge hurdle has been the liquor license application, in that there were some concerns by the chief of police that our handling of the delivery of liquor would be mismanaged. Having spoken to him, we’ve sort-of alleviated some of that. It has been a long, drawn-out process; we had expected it a little bit sooner, so some of the revenue stream hasn’t come in. It’s really hurt us. Some of the bands and some of the people literally will not come because we don’t have the liquor license. That has definitely hurt us. One band actually commented that they felt as though we didn’t have it put together, so that they didn’t want to come until everything was put together. Their thought was that we weren’t really a viable venue until we had all of those things in place, specifically the liquor license.”
CN - "...not to mention that for a venue like the house, liquor revenue can make or break a monthly budget."
MR - “When we have shows, the fact that we don’t have alcohol here— those that do come will go and seek that elsewhere and come back, so that’s— you know, in our world, that’s lost revenue. It’s very expensive to run this place; I’ve had to have the liability and the insurance for that liquor, without actually having the revenue as of yet. So that’s been pretty difficult.”
CN - "The persistence, and continued discussion and negotiation with the city paid off. Monday night, the City of DeKalb voted unanimously to award the House Cafe with a low-alcohol by volume, otherwise known as a restaurant liquor license. This is the same type of license offered to businesses like Starbucks. It allows all-ages entry and purchase of food and drink, and persons 21 years of age and older the ability to purchase alcohol. There was positive feedback from the city, and naturally, Mark was pleased with the results."
MR - “I’m so super-stoked. This is an amazing point right here, it’s been three months in waiting almost, and I’m super excited. I know that we’ll be able to make this work. The obstacles— most of the obstacles are now clear.”
CN - "After purchasing their license from the city, the next step is to get licensed by the state, and line up a distributor."
MR - “We’re here, we’re gonna be here for a long time. We’re going to be here for the community. I want to thank the city, the city council, the mayor, the city staff and everyone for working with us. It was a collaborative effort all around, so I appreciate everything."
CN - "For WNIJ news, I’m Carl Nelson"