West Theatre defaults on more than $1 million in mortgage loans

It seems to me that your article on the West Theater is more like newsmongering than responsible, news worthy journalism. I don’t see how the public is helped by this information but I can see who may be negatively affected by it.

Sometimes “the public’s right to know” does do harm to the people or business that the story is about. I don’t blame you for reporting the story, but I also agree with Mr Boone’s analysis that people may be less likely to buy tickets for an event held at a venue that might not be open when the concert is supposed to take place. To make things even worse for Mr Boone, after the information in your story is more widely circulated, his suppliers and performers might now want their payments in advance, further hindering him. I’m not advocating that court proceedings should be private or not covered by newspapers, I’m just saying that it’s a tough situation for those who have their laundry aired in public.

For all the truly rotten stuff being done in Duluth, by greedy people, this article is simply uncalled for.

This should have been a rallying article, not a public shaming.

For all the good work you do, this was just uncalled for. Seriously.

What a terrible strain Mr. Boone is under. He seems to be alone and hiding his secret in fear and shame. Let’s reassure him that, in today’s climate, financial troubles are the new normal.

I know nothing about crowdfunding but I wonder if Mr. Boone’s vigilance undermines the groundswell of public support that he could rally behind him to save the West and his home. There’s tremendous social currency in Duluth. If Boone were to come out and ask the community for help, he might be surprised by where the $$$ might come from.

His lenders might not be so inclined to foreclose once they see the PR they could gain by joining him to save his biz and home.

Suffering in silence is not a workable strategy.

If anything, people should take this article as a sign to rally. Save the West!

Schadenfreude masquerading as journalism. When you called Mr. Boone, did you tell him you were recording him? It may not be illegal, but it’s certainly unethical. Perhaps you should start writing for the National Enquirer. After 60+ years on the planet, I am still taken aback by the covert-and-overt mean-spiritedness of people.

I would agree that this piece could have been done better. I do wonder how the Duluth Monitor decides what to cover and how. I doubt there is a process like larger print organizations have.

What is the Monitor’s process? Do we need to know? If more voices were a part of it maybe the piece would have been more positive around how difficult these projects can be. I guess we all can decide with our dollars of support. Bob is his own man, that’s for sure, yet he has taken on a large risk for the betterment of western Duluth. Maybe compare how this is being funded with how the Norshor was. I like to think of the West as the affordable venue to see entertainment.

I’m not aware of any public money nor City involvement with The West project.

The piece done on the London Road development defaulting was much different because of how the City bent over backwards to allow a fourth floor to be built, calling it a non-living space or whatever it was called to skirt building regulations.

I’m sure the Monitor will learn from this piece or maybe not.

John Ramos recently published a story about the West Theatre and myself.

After much feedback and reflection, I have been encouraged to respond despite the possibility of further escalation.

Ramos has worked as a writer with The Reader at various times from 2000 to 2018. Recently, he has been attempting to make a name for himself with his Duluth Monitor website.

Ramos has contributed a great body of journalism over the years to our community, with important stories on the downtown library, the Lake Superior Zoo, the Aquarium, Spirit Mountain, and he recently led the coverage on the Two Harbors mayor fiasco. Ramos endlessly attends public meetings.

On Saturday, Nov. 25th, Ramos called me while I was in Minneapolis. Despite poor cell coverage, I took his call. The last time he called (about a month ago) he had asked about coming back to The Reader as a contributing writer, and I felt I owed him a response.

Instead he asked about the West Theatre’s difficulties. Although all of us have laundry we would rather not have aired, it’s no secret that it has been a challenge to build a theatre business during the time of a pandemic, nor do I attempt to hide it. Presumably off the record, I discussed the issues pretty openly and at length, although some banking issues are sensitive or quite complex. Terms like “matured” “cross collaterization” and “default” are difficult to parse into a sound bite.

Here’s some background on the situation at the West, much of which I shared with John.

–The West Theatre opened to great acclaim just before COVID, won a historic preservation award, and has been featured on CBS This Morning. Our team, including dozens of volunteers, restored it for 1/24th of the then-recent Norshor Theatre restoration cost.

–When it opened in 2019, it lost money for three months, then broke even for three months. The profitable Golden Era started in February 2020, and ended the next month when COVID hit.

–I acquired as much COVID loans and grant money as possible and placed them in a savings account. This means that The West’s first mortgage payments were made throughout the pandemic as scheduled. This was a huge help, but not enough in itself to overcome all the immense challenges.

–2020 and 2021 were painful struggles, with very minimal income. 2022 was 50% better than 2021 though, and 2023 is more than 50% better than 2022; so promising and exciting growth.

–Though the economy is recuperating, the movie business has recovered more slowly.

–The concert business is exploding at The West, showcasing world class talent, and with many sold out shows.

–The West is safe for the short-term future, but does require a new first mortgage; which has been difficult to arrange without a track record of success. We now have a deal pending to replace the first mortgage.

–The adjacent Alhambra Theatre is less than $100,000 short of completion. Upon opening this second theatre, the West will have much greater opportunities due to economies of scale and scheduling flexibility. It will be a safe, fun space with live music in the cocktail lounge and more movies and concerts in the intimate 61 seat theater.

Ramos’ story, wherein he quotes our phone conversation at great and confusing length, is at best unintentionally deceptive. The reader has no way of knowing that we had discussed the issue for 15 minutes before John stated that he was intending to run a story. (It was a 17-minute conversation). I was more than surprised. I’ve run The Reader since 1997, and I’ve never encountered a journalist who did not immediately introduce his name, outlet, and intentions when hoping to work a story on the record.

The next day he posted his story. It was immediately obvious that he had recorded the conversation. I have never encountered a journalist who did not announce his desire to record a conversation in advance. The practice is not illegal in Minnesota, but Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute states that “surreptitious taping in a one-party state, even if it’s legal for one party to know … is something that should rarely be used” and journalists should record without permission “only in situations of great journalistic importance, great gravity and only if there is no other way to get the information.”

With minimal effort at context, it appears Ramos’ sole intention was to post a fast “gotcha” story.

If anyone wants to know more, I invite them to come and discover what our team is accomplishing at The West for themselves. I’ll give you a tour.