MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After Black Lodge's announcement on Tuesday that the business will be shutting down, its founder, Matt Martin, said the closure was years in the making.
Black Lodge off Cleveland in Midtown has been at the Cleveland St. location for the last five years and became a local favorite, offering more than 30,000 videos in addition to games, food, drinks and more.
Martin said over the years, it "became a crossroads for the artistic communities of Memphis."
But according to Martin, the day the COVID-19 quarantine went into effect, he and his partners knew their business was operating on borrowed time.
“The day the pandemic and the quarantine started, we immediately knew we were in trouble," Martin said.
The doors closed, and soon the debt, loans and lack of cash coming in caught up with Black Lodge.
“We reached an era after the pandemic where going out with friends at a communal space became a luxury many people could no longer afford," he said.
Martin said over the years, he knew closing the doors would be a very real possibility.
According to Martin, he and his team were recently having weekly conversations discussing it.
“It took absolutely everything we had to get this far, and we realized we’ve just reached that point where it’s just too far behind," Martin said. "We’re just never gonna get enough to keep it open.”
Martin said they will have shows this weekend before that part of the building closes, and they will continue to rent videos for another week until they can find a permanent location for their 30,000+ collection.