Eli’s Mile High Club, the legendary music venue on Martin Luther Jr. Way in West Oakland, is in grave financial distress and might have to shutter its doors — for good — if the situation doesn’t change.
“We haven’t made a profit in years,” says Matthew Patane, one of the club’s owners. “We are operating at a huge loss — just dumping money into it.”
And things have gone from bad to worse in recent months, Patane says, following the decision by City of Oakland officials to close the club’s large back patio area in November.
“We have been operating day-to-day since November,” Patane says. “The loss of our back patio has taken away over 60 percent of our business.”
Patane informed members of the Eli’s community — and other interested parties — of the dire troubles that Eli’s is facing during a small public meeting held last week at the club.
The issue began a few years back, Patane says, when the owner of a nearby property filed a complaint with the city about the club. Eli’s apparently lacks the zoning required to have a back patio — even though it’s been hosting customers in the patio area for many years.
“It’s how it’s always been,” he said. (City officials) haven’t said anything for the seven years we’ve been doing this,” says Patane, whose ownership group took over Eli’s in 2015. “These restrictions are just coming out of nowhere.”
But then, Patane says, the City of Oakland just kind of dropped the whole thing — and he never heard anything about it — so the club went back to operating the back patio as they had been doing for years. And all seemed fairly well, until code enforcement officials suddenly reappeared in November and hit the club with a red tag for using its patio.
Since then, the club has been operating on a much more limited schedule — going from seven days a week to just four — and utilizing other measures to cut back on costs. Notably, they have had to significantly reduce their staffing, going from 30 employees to less than 20 since November.
“We have had to lay off people that I’ve known for years,” Patane says.
Meanwhile, Patane says he’s taken a huge financial hit personally — to the point where he’s given up his own home and is now coach-surfing at friend’s places — as he works two jobs to try and keep Eli’s afloat.
“I live so far below the poverty line and pay so much in property taxes,” he says. “I could show you my bank account — it’s under $2,000.”
Patane is currently looking into fundraising measures and other ways that the community can help support the venue so that it doesn’t have to shutter its doors.
“We are doing everything we can to say open,” Patane says.
For now, the club still boosts a healthy calendar of upcoming shows and events, including its popular weekly blues showcase — Blues Monday.
For more information, visit elismilehighclub.com.
