After a roughly six-month sale process, one of Seattle’s most renowned music venues has a new owner.
The Crocodile has been sold to an out-of-state group led by talent manager Jimmy Miller and Mike McAvoy, the former CEO of The Onion. The group’s Comedy Tent umbrella company also owns the famed Upright Citizens Brigade (which has theaters in New York and Los Angeles), film and TV company Abso Lutely Productions and Bottlerock Social Hall — a Pittsburgh comedy/music venue.
The new ownership group looks to bring financial stability to the Belltown club, which had accrued more than $1.6 million in debt since moving into its expanded First Avenue location in late 2021. At the end of last year, the Crocodile closed its smaller downstairs venues Madame Lou’s and comedy room Here-After, citing financial challenges. The sale was conducted through a process known as receivership, which is often used as an alternative to filing bankruptcy.
“I first met Jimmy Miller in 1996, when his client Jim Carrey hosted ‘SNL’s’ season finale and requested Soundgarden as the musical guest,” said Susan Silver, longtime manager of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains and Crocodile investor, in a news release. “I came prepared for a difficult conversation about what my clients needed, but Jimmy listened and responded with complete confidence and generosity. … That moment revealed the qualities I have admired in Jimmy for nearly three decades: his respect for artists, his instinct for creative talent and his ability to build trust. As I step away from The Crocodile, I am confident Jimmy and his team will honor its legacy while bringing fresh vision, energy and opportunity to its next chapter.”
The Crocodile’s current management team and staff of roughly 100 will continue running the club’s operations with support from the Bottlerocket Social Hall crew. The new owners’ comedy background would seem to come in handy as it redevelops the Croc’s struggling downstairs venues into “an exciting new venue experience,” with details coming later this year.
“Being friends with the legendary Susan Silver for many years, I have long known about the Crocodile and its special place in the fabric of one of the greatest music cities in the world,” Miller said in the release. “When the opportunity arose to help, we were thrilled to become the stewards of such an important institution and to provide the stability and infrastructure it has long been hoping for as an organization. Like our other venues, the Crocodile will continue to operate the way that it always has; independently, musician driven, and as a beacon of Seattle’s creative community. The Crocodile will continue as its own brand and operation alongside UCB and Abso, not under them.”
Keeping the Crocodile an independent music venue, as it has been for 35 years, was important to the outgoing ownership group and staff. The sale was announced Monday as the National Independent Venue Association held its annual conference in Minneapolis.
The only other publicly known offer came from a group led by Marcus Charles — a Seattle music and hospitality veteran and (before the sale) one of the Crocodile’s largest stakeholders. A former partner in Neumos and Capitol Hill Block Party, Charles became the lead investor in the Crocodile’s 2009 rebirth when the club reopened in its original Second Avenue home following a 15-month closure. Charles’ Cascade Music Group currently runs the summer concert series at Marymoor Park.
This story will be updated.
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