COLLATERAL DAMAGE: Downtown Dayton restaurant-club to shut down, look to relocate

Owner of Hannah’s said fallout from tornadoes, mass shootings and KKK rally took toll

A challenging location, combined with fallout from the Dayton area’s mass shooting, Memorial Day tornadoes and KKK rally, have forced the owner of Hannah’s restaurant, music and bar venue in downtown Dayton, to shut down in his current location, following one final Musician’s Co-Op event this Friday, Sept. 6.

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“This location just didn’t work out,” Hannah’s founder and owner Luke Feerer told this news outlet. “We did our best, but it just wasn’t in the cards. At the end of the day, I’m proud of what we did for the two years we were here.”

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Feerer is looking for a new location — one with dedicated parking, and a larger seating capacity, he said — and intends to reopen, although nothing is imminent.

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“I can keep the liquor license in safekeeping for two years, so I don’t have to settle for anything just yet,” Feerer said. “We will make a sound business decision.” Feerer also operates a property maintenance services company and recently obtained a license to serve as a substitute teacher.

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Hannah’s opened in June 2017 at 121 N. Ludlow St. in the Talbott Tower, in space that previously housed J-Alans bar. The business is named after Feerer’s daughter.

Feerer said the venue suffered from the lack of dedicated parking, and business was not as strong as anticipated during show nights at nearby performing-arts venues.

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But the seemingly back-to-back-to-back events of the downtown Dayton KKK rally, tornado outbreak and mass shooting in the Oregon District in recent months slammed Hannah’s bottom line and were a powerful contributing factor in his decision to suspend operations, Feerer said.

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“In a nutshell, the financial ecosystem of a small business in the first two years is delicate as is, Feerer wrote on his venue’s Facebook page. “So when you throw a KKK Rally in the mix and then add tornadoes and a mass shooting all in the same summer, it just adds up to a very difficult season.”

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The Musician’s Co-Op event this Friday will be a fitting end for Hannah’s at its current location, Feerer wrote. “It’s our favorite event,” he said.

To his customers, Feerer wrote: “We gave it our best at this location for over two years, and words cannot describe how grateful we are for your support and patronage.”

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