Cafe 9 Sale Struck; State House To Close

The Ninth Square’s signature music nightspot will still be called Cafe 9 after next week — but with new owners, and maybe some ribs.

Paul Mayer is ending a 20-year run operating the storied club at the corner of State and Crown Streets in the heart of a growing downtown neighborhood.

He has reached a deal to sell the business (which is on the first floor of a brick building owned by Mike Reichbart, the original Cafe 9 operator) to local bartenders with music experience, including on the Cafe 9 stage. Pending final approval of permits, the deal closes and the new owners — Patrick Meyer, Jesse Burke, and Chris Meyer — will assume operation of the club April 1. Mayer declined to disclose the terms of the deal.

That’s one of two major musical developments on the same block of State Street within walking distance of six separate new apartment complexes either already built or in construction. The other development: The State House music venue is vacating its premises so that one of those apartment construction projects can begin, with only two months of shows left.

Under Paul Mayer, Cafe 9 developed a fierce loyal local following and a national reputation as the ​“musician’s living room” for its intimate, informal setting, quality sound, and combination of local bands and nationally and internationally touring acts spanning rock, reggae, folk, Afrobeat, jazz, and genres in between. (Click above for a sample of Wednesday’s night show, headlined by touring Australian singer-songwriter Nat Vazer and opened by the local rock act Split Coils and presented by Fernando Pinto.)

In an interview Thursday, Patrick Meyer promised repeatedly that he and his partners plan to continue, not upscale or water down, Cafe 9 as patrons currently recognize it.

The name stays. The same kind of music stays, including all booked shows.

“We’re going to keep it weird. We’re going to keep it local,” Meyer promised. ​“It’s not going to become a gastropub.”

It will start serving food, he said: No oysters on the half shell. No bespoke cocktails. But perhaps some barbecue or tacos to order along with drinks during a show.

The only other change he said is in the works: Staying open later (til 1 a.m. each weeknight, 2 a.m. weekends) and every night of the week, even if no live music is booked.

Paul Mayer, who bought the Cafe 9 business from Michael Reichbart (who still owns the building) in 2003, has shopped around the club for years. He said he was waiting for the right buyers to continue the tradition.

“I’ve been there a long time. It was always a dream of mine to have a place like Cafe 9. I’ve accomplished what I can there. It’s time for me to move on…”

“I’m turning 64 soon,” Mayer told the Independent Thursday. ​“I’m fortunate. I’ve always had a good staff there. The community has been great. It’s never been about me. It’s been about the place. I think I need to just step away and let it take its new direction.”

“They have the experience. They’re both bartenders. They have familiarity with the music scene. I know they’re going to be a success. I know the community is going to be happy about the changeover,” Mayer said.

“I feel honored he picked us to carry the torch. It feels good man,” said Patrick Meyer, who’s 38.

Meyer and Jesse Burke currently tend bar at the Owl Shop. Meyer previous worked at the old Anna Liffey’s among other local watering holes. The third partner is Patrick Meyer’s brother Chris.

“We’re a bunch of working stiffs. We work as bartenders. Me and Jesse’s kids go to New Haven public schools. We’re blue-collar New Haven guys who saw this gold opportunity,” Patrick Meyer said.

Meyer, who used to play guitar and drums in touring bands, came to Cafe 9 before he came to live in New Haven: He played a gig there with a band called Jeremy and the Harlequins.

“It reminded me of New York before it got taken over by yuppie scum [and before] they shut down all the cool music venues,” he recalled. He committed to preventing that process from sanitizing Cafe 9.

Meyer said he doesn’t know yet about staffing plans. Cafe 9 currently has 11 part-time staffers. (Update: Meyer later added: ​“As far as staffing, me and Jesse are taking over bartending duties. All original door, sound, and booking people are staying intact.”)

State House Sets Date

Meanwhile, several doors up State near the corner of Chapel, the State House plans on hosting its last live shows on Memorial Day weekend.

The warehouse-style space opened a year and a half before the pandemic in a mid-block commercial space in a parking lot, quickly establishing itself as another beloved venue for often cutting-edge local music.

Beacon Communities is about to begin building 76 apartments (most of them affordable) on that lot, part of the residential construction boom remaking downtown.

State House Co-owner Slate Ballard told the Independent his crew is exploring its next step. No decisions have been made yet.

“We currently do not see another State House, like it currently looks, happening. The State House may produce shows in the area. We may partner with some local organizations to produce shows or create some new space for musicians and local promoters to utilize,” Ballard said.