By 2017, Irish Hill was being repositioned as a mixed-use residential area and had become a magnet for new development, with a 400-unit apartment building erected on an industrial site down the street from Headliners.
Even before the events of 2020, Argabrite was already feeling pressure from surrounding development. And then came the pandemic.
Forced closures of music venues across the country due to social distancing meant overall revenue losses of up to 90% for some of the over 3,000 independent venues across America, with rent or mortgages still expected to be paid. “There were times when we were very close to seeing ourselves not being able to get to the next month.”