Chapel Hill will lose a piece of local history when The Cave, an underground bar and concert venue founded in 1968, closes on April 30.
Mark Connor, who has been an owner of the bar for five and a half years, said he is working to find replacement local venues for the acts that were booked at The Cave. He is reaching out to venues in the area including Nightlight, 2nd Wind and The Pinhook.
“Our biggest concerns are the touring acts,” Connor said. “Local bands can book another local show, but we don’t want touring acts to not have a night.”
Connor tried to sell the bar due to its financial troubles before he knew it would shut down. He decided to close The Cave on April 30 as the bar’s liquor license expires then.
“Our landlord — she knows that we’ve been struggling, and isn’t really into having a bar down here,” Connor said. “She doesn’t think it’s a feasible business, so she hasn’t been willing to negotiate a lease with anybody to take over ownership of The Cave and do a similar thing down here.”
The Cave has long been a venue for emerging local bands to play. Connor said that some of his favorite concerts in the space included Sylvan Esso, Birds of Avalon and Valient Thorr.
“It’s sort of like an entry point for new bands to be able to play,” Connor said. “People have recently referred to it as an incubator with bands getting their start and things like that.”
The Cave houses a small, dimly-lit underground room with a ground-level stage, which Connor said adds to its unique atmosphere.
“There’s nowhere on Earth that looks like this or feels like this,” Connor said. “Last night there was a really great show here. Something like 50 people paid for it or something, and when there’s 50 people in here because they’re watching a show on this stage, it’s pretty great.”
