The owners of The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar in Melbourne have launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy rock institution the Tote, which was put up for sale last week.
On Wednesday (March 8), the owners of the Victoria Street venue unveiled a crowdfunding campaign with a target of $3million with the aim of purchasing the Tote Hotel. The storied venue’s co-owners Jon Perring and Sam Crupi have decided to sell, citing “the stresses and strains of navigating” the venue through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a social media statement, The Last Chance co-owner Shane Hilton said that the Tote has an asking price of $6million to $6.6million (a figure reported by Real Commercial), and “in all likelihood it will be purchased by a developer and the Tote will no longer exist”. He added, “We’re not going to let that happen.”
Hilton and fellow co-owner Leanne, who took over The Last Chance in 2016, can come up with half of the asking price, he said, “with a lot of hard work, begging, borrowing and using every dollar we have”. They hope to fundraise for the other half through the campaign, which offers merchandise rewards including shirts, a compilation album on vinyl, posters and memberships.
The Last Chance’s owners say that if they manage to purchase the Tote, they will ensure its protection by “putting the building in trust with so much red tape, caveats and legal protection that it can never be anything but a live music venue let alone sold ever again.” In the description of the crowdfunding campaign, they add: “We’re giving the Tote to the bands of Melbourne forever. No fuckers gunna touch one of those posters on that tobacco stained ceiling.”
The campaign, launched on Pozible, uses an “all or nothing fundraising approach”, its description says – which means that if it fails to hit its target, crowdfunders do not get charged. Within two days of launch and with two months on the clock, the campaign has raised over $50,000 with over 300 supporters.
The Tote itself has thrown support behind The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar’s campaign to buy the venue, sharing the campaign on social media with the note: “When the best in the business want to save The Tote you listen.”
The Tote is expected to change hands in June, with Jon Perring and Sam Crupi retaining ownership and booking bands till then. The land and building, as well as the Tote brand and business, are up for sale.
The agent overseeing the Tote’s sale, Richard Miglic, told Broadsheet he received “dozens of enquiries” about the venue within the first 24 hours of the campaign. NME has contacted Miglic for comment.
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