"Elected the 'mayor of the Hotel Cafe,' Brothers discovered the Hollywood haunt before it even had a liquor license. In those days, the cafe had a BYOB policy and sold buckets of ice for visitors to chill the alcohol they brought in with them, and jazz legends pouring out of local bars after last call capped off their nights with a 3 a.m. jam session in the Hotel Cafe's piano room (or smoking room, depending on whom you ask)."
"Brothers has always likened the Hotel Cafe in that era to "'Cheers' with guitars," where he could show up any night and a dozen of his closest friends would be there. Eagles songwriter Jack Tempchin used to say it was the closest thing to the front bar at the Troubadour in the '70s. 'Nobody became the Eagles, sure, but the spirit was the same,' Brothers said."
"The beloved music venue, which kick-started the careers of then-little-known singer-songwriters Adele, Sara Bareilles and Damien Rice, is closing its doors in early 2026, its co-founders Marko Shafer and Max Mamikunian announced in November."
The Hotel Cafe will close its original location in early 2026 with co-founders Marko Shafer and Max Mamikunian announcing plans to open a new venue in Lumina Hollywood in early 2027. The venue helped launch artists such as Adele, Sara Bareilles and Damien Rice and served as a close-knit gathering spot for musicians and fans. Early operations included a BYOB policy, reinvestment of earnings into the venue and late-night jam sessions in a piano room. Longtime patrons expressed deep emotional attachment while acknowledging the consolation of a planned new location. The owners attribute success in part to good timing.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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