A staple tavern in downtown London is now on the market.
The owner of Call the Office is retiring and is offering the business at the corner of York St. and Clarence St. for lease "to the right individual."
According to the listing on realtor.ca, the bar is fully licensed for 330 patrons inside and 156 on the patio and is a "great venue for live bands." The net lease is $5,000.00 per month plus property taxes, insurance, and maintenance.
Before fully retiring, the owner has agreed to stay on for a short period of time to train the person who takes over.
The online listing also states the property could be leased for re-development.
According to a GoFundMe page posted by Call the Office’s co-owner Tony Lima, the building is in need of a great deal of renovation.
"The last couple of years have been tough; live music is, of course, unpredictable at best, and the last two winters have really taken a toll on this almost 150 year old building," said Lima on the GoFundMe page. "Having to put a new roof on, and then seeing much of it blow off in 60 mph winds, furnace issues, bursting pipes during two of the coldest winters we can remember, exploding water heaters and a myriad of other small things that naturally have come at the least convenient times. Add to that absurd property taxes and ever increasing utility bills, and a recent round of frivolous but expensive legal activities, have left us in a bit of a tight spot."
The GoFundMe campaign for Call the Office has a goal of $15,000, which Lima hopes to use for improvements on the decades-old building.
"We are trying to raise some funds to cover some of the expenses that have been building up, with the hope that we might also be able to show a little TLC to this historic building, like fixing the floors, or maybe replacing the original windows with something more effective," he said.
Billed as London' Home Of Original Live Music, Call the Office has played host to a number of big acts including the Barenaked Ladies, Radiohead, and Nelly Furtado. The building it calls home dates back to 1881.
