An eviction notice and a “For Rent” sign are currently hanging on the door of Northern Soul, a tavern tucked in the southwest corner of town that a little over a month ago was a haven for local musicians and artists.
The venue at First and Madison streets closed on May 3 after landlords Liam and Margaret Benson applied for a warrant of removal in March, according to court records.
“Our neighbors loved us because we brought a presence to the street,” said Marc Russell, the owner, sitting outside a nearby cafe and admiring the surrounding neighborhood in the 4th Ward, where Northern Soul was the only bar. “We want to stay here, and we feel there’s a consensus that the neighborhood would like us to stay as well.”
Creating a community
Russell and co-owner John McCloskey both grew up in Ireland and came to the U.S. about 14 years ago, originally just for a vacation with friends. As McCloskey put it, they “came here on a vacation and never left.”
After an Irish pub called The Quiet Woman permanently closed, Russell and McCloskey took it over and changed the name in 2008.
The name “Northern Soul” came from a 1970s English music and dance movement that brought Motown and African-American soul music to underground parties and sped up songs to make them more “danceable,” McCloskey explained.
“We were going for an arts and music kind of vibe,” Russell recalled. “We noticed Hoboken already had a lot of sports bars, so we figured we needed something more niche-y.”
Northern Soul also had a unique location, 10 blocks west of the bustling bar scene of Washington Street, away from the waterfront. Since its opening eight years ago, the bar gained a loyal following from the city’s music community, hosting weekly open mics and even adding a rotating art gallery.
Russell said everyone was welcome, not just people with an interest in music or art. He and McCloskey sought to make the bar “town-friendly.”
Former Hoboken resident Devin McMenamy was a regular at the tavern, performing at open mics under his stage name, Demand. The rock musician said he enjoyed the atmosphere Northern Soul provided. Even after moving to Springfield, N.J. last year, he still came back almost every week.
“You get a mix of artists and a casual crowd,” he said. “Not everyone is there to see the music, but you’ll always get people who stop in to see what’s going on and grab a drink. There’s a lot of artists who like that casual atmosphere.”
A Soul-saving mission
Less than two days after the bar was evicted a petition titled “Save OUR Soul!” began circulating on ipetition.com. The petition, which was created by a woman who frequently visited the bar, has gained almost 1,000 signatures, with over 300 comments from patrons sharing memories and reasons the bar was special to them.
An online user named Ira Landgarten, who lived nearby, commented, “I’ve lived here since before [Northern Soul] opened, and I know they helped improve the Fourth Ward.” Another user, Marisa Ventura commented, “I met my future husband there.”
“[Northern Soul] was a place where a person who never had a platform before could rely on week by week to build up a brand for their music.”
____________
The community reaction continued offline too. After the owners announced the bar’s closing on Facebook, patrons organized a busk, or a street performance, outside the bar on a Wednesday night when the bar would normally host open-mic sessions. Hoboken librarian and musician Sacha Chavez said he missed the gathering, but spent the following Wednesday performing on his own outside the bar.
“I tell you, being out there alone and looking through the window, I became teary-eyed,” Chavez confessed. “The Irish call bars ‘pubs,’ since they’re public spaces. And this public space provided a great service to the community – not just for artists, but for anyone who wanted to escape to a place where anything goes on stage.”
McMenemy had similar feelings about the bar’s closing, admitting that losing Northern Soul was “huge.”
“It was a place where a lot of people would go to get acquainted with musicians. It was a place that a person who never had a platform before could rely on week by week to build up a brand for their music.”
McCloskey and Russell expressed their gratitude for the community’s effort to bring back Northern Soul – whether it was through the online petition, the Wednesday night sidewalk performances, or even Facebook messages to Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
“Seeing this outpouring of love and support is radical,” McCloskey said. “And it makes us even more adamant to reopen.”
Whither the arts?
Hoboken has always been known for hosting artists and musicians, but with rents rising, some struggle to maintain that flavor.
“Bars like Northern Soul aren’t that prevalent in Hoboken anymore,” said McCloskey. He and Russell agreed that “sports bars with lots of loud TVs” are becoming more common. Northern Soul had TVs too, but Russell said they were not the focus of the bar.
Maxwell’s has always been the most famous local rock club, having hosted music legends since the 1970s. Venues presently hosting open mics around town include Finnegan’s, BWE Kafe, and The Ale House.
As a musician looking for a venue, McMenamy said he and others from Northern Soul have started performing at Maxwell’s open mics on Tuesdays. The club even provides amps and a full drum kit. Yet, McMenamy said he still misses the atmosphere and friendships Northern Soul provided.
next move
Russell said Benson had initially agreed to renew the bar’s lease, but then claimed Russell owed him more money, despite his not having missed any rent payments. This launched a lengthy legal dispute. Benson was granted a warrant of removal after the Northern Soul staff re-painted a part of their building that had been vandalized by graffiti, Russell said.
Benson, who owns several properties on First Street, did not return calls.
Russell said that even the neighbors loved them. “With most bars, their neighbors hate them,” he said. “But people liked us here. Before us, the neighborhood was kind of dark.”
Last week, as he finished an iced coffee at Hoboken Hot House, Russell said the pair was getting ready to look at a new potential space.
Hoboken is home to approximately 130 venues with liquor licenses, according to the city clerk’s office. Finding a new location is tricky because of the five-hundred foot rule, a city law that states that no liquor license will be granted to a business located within 500 feet of another that also has a liquor license.
Yet, the two friends remain optimistic about the future of Northern Soul. Russell said the current situation is “just the end of one chapter.”
He encouraged former patrons to stay true to the motto of the bar’s namesake: “Keep the faith.” He added, “We’re comin’ back!”
Gianluca D’Elia can be contacted at editorial@hudsonreporter.com.