The Carleton Music Bar & Grill needs your help. For years, the elegant Argyle Street venue owned by Mike Campbell has been the setting for some of the most memorable and intimate shows. With a delectable menu, expert bartending, that beautiful patio, attentive sound engineers and the best audio system in Halifax, it’s been a staple venue for touring rock and folk artists, the Halifax Pop Explosion and the Halifax Urban Folk Festival (HUFF), among others.Â
This week, Campbell has finally reached out to Halifax to financially contribute to the bar. The impact of the construction and development of Nova Centre, which might be complete by September, has been enormous on small businesses in the downtown core: “At this stage, we’ve lost about 100 parking spaces around our business. We endure endless, often random, street closures and other construction-related headaches, as well as dust, dirt, and noise on a daily basis,” says Campbell. “Asking for help is a huge step for me and I do it reluctantly.”
While the completion of the Nova Centre brings optimistic promises of a revitalized downtown, businesses have to survive in the meantime. Moreover, there will never be sun on Argyle Street again. Either way, Campbell enlisted the support of folks in the industry to help make a case for the importance of the bar. It really is one of the most unique venues in Halifax, one of the only spaces to offer sit-down table-service and shows with sound so clear you can hear a pin drop.Â
In the video below, artists who have performed at The Carleton — Joel Plaskett, Jenn Grant, Steve Poltz, July Talk, Matt Minglewood, Ron Hawkins, Robyn Hitchcock, Adam Baldwin and more — explain why The Carleton is a vital space in Halifax’s music scene, and a very special part of Canadian culture. Not to mention, Campbell has dedicated his career to the Canadian music industry. He’s not even asking for much — pledges of $5 to $10 per month, or one-time donations — anything you can afford. He wouldn’t ask if he didn’t need it.Â
You can check out the campaign here and make a pledge, big or small. You can also patronize the bar, whether for music, drinks or food. It’ll help you remember why you live in this city in the first place — we love Halifax and live in Halifax because of places like The Carleton. Also, if this helps, check out this badass interview Campbell did with Eric’s Trip on Much East in 1996.Â
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This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2016.
This is the reality for most of the businesses downtown right now and it’s absolutely heart breaking. This construction is putting us all in a very difficult position, and sustaining our businesses until the Nova Centre ‘maybe’ brings people downtown again, is nearly impossible. I feel for Mike and encourage people to donate. It’s one of the best venues in Halifax and it would be a GREAT shame to see it close. This man has heart. If we all start to close, Halifax will have absolutely no downtown to speak of.
I’d like to know what the musicians are contributing
Perhaps people could support the downtown businesses by patronizing them and spending money in them. The continuing slow death of the downtown while places like Dartmouth Crossing are built is painful to watch. Downtown has plenty of parking this isn’t the problem.
Musicians are contributing music, and the life long pursuit of borderline poverty. They have nothing left to give.
The musicians are contributing live entertainment to attract business. With musicians present, more people will attend wich creates higher food and drink sales, as well as cover charges.
A great club, a great owner and staff, great musicians. A really good cause.
Business will pick up once everything is built. Maybe now is the time to tighten the belt and cut unnecessary expenses for a couple months and get ready for the onslaught of people who will be in the area this tine next year making your business thrive. It’s business. ups and downs due mostly to things beyond your personal control. weather the storm
I met you Mike years ago on the road with the other Mike on the road with Jeff Healey down in Florida when he was touring. I have always wanted to play your club. I have heard nothing but great things about it. I will gladly contribute what I can. Best of luck with this. Kim Doolittle
Funny how the promise of Nova centre is the revitalisation of the downtown area (how one building would do that on its own, I’ll never know) and yet what it’s actually doing is exactly the opposite! Between stifling Halifax’s most vibrant restaurant street, disrupting the already mindbogglingly bad traffic system and generally being a gigantic ugly eyesore, it has a long way to go towards making up for the trouble is caused.
I will never understand why Halifax thinks it will revitalize the downtown by adding one *gigantic* new building, that displaces everything around it. Doesn’t anyone recall Scotia square, the incredibly ugly and stifling building only two blocks over? These buildings don’t work in the scale of our city, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner or downtown will be revitalized. An office building/hotel/convention centre is NEVER going to stop people from going out to Bayers lake or Dartmouth crossing to do all their shopping.
I guess this isn’t the place to point out that during several years of construction on the Nova Centre, not a single business has cited it as a reason for closure. But lots of new places have opened, even right on Argyle Street.
I’m not saying there hasn’t been disruption, but let’s keep some perspective here.
I’m sure the construction was a huge hit to patio business in recent summers, but it seems like some people don’t like the Nova Centre for political or aesthetic reasons (fair enough), and that response is turning into this bizarre “the Nova Centre is ruining the neighbourhood” mentality.
Also, downtown is clearly not dying, it’s transitioning, from a low-rent commercial district full of undergrad binge-drinking bars and empty storefronts into a place that can support high-end cocktail joints, pricey restaurants, craft-beer bars, and even streetfront retail that people will make a special trip to shop at. This is GOOD. It will be painful for places that don’t make the cut, but it will be better for the city. (For what it’s worth, I love the Carleton and hope it pulls through, because I think it will thrive in the kind of downtown ours is becoming.)
Every other bar on Argyle street seems to be doing fine. If Mike is losing money, maybe he has to look at his business model. Food quality? Customer service? Sure he gets great bands, and it’s great to have an intimate music venue downtown, but every time I’ve been there Mike has been arrogant and rude to customers. He should book acts and hire a business manager.
Small businesses, restaurants, bars – they are really hard to make profitable. Parking has always been terrible in the area, but great new places are opening and doing fine. Stillwell – there is zero parking on Barrington, but that place is booming.
Crowdfunding to expand a business makes sense, a la Brooklyn Warehouse – but not to cover operating cost deficiencies. If people are really going to support The Carleton, they should just go to the Carleton. And if that bar can’t make it after that, then the problem is not the market or construction – it’s the business.
Let it die. Putting the Carleton on life support won’t make the service any better. Notorious for inattentive barkeeps. When employees feel entitled to be there and only pay attention to their friends and regulars, these things happen. I walk by the Carleton almost every evening on my way home from work and haven’t been there in over two years. Why? Not because of the music. I love many of the artists that play there. The food is good enough. The drinks are on par with most of the spots around. I spend most of my extra dough in local restaurants, but not here. Your bartender is your frontman. I can’t speak for the current state of things, but whoever that guy was three years ago that wouldn’t make eye contact, couldn’t remember what you were drinking by the fourth drink, made me wait while he chattered with his friends for five minutes before serving me as I stood three feet away… I’ll give you another chance. Don’t blow it. This location will be a gold mine in a year or so.