With building tax debt, an LGBTQ+ entertainment space on the Cleveland-Lakewood border will be closing December 28.
Studio West 117, which includes bars, restaurants and a gymnasium, owes more than $160,000 in taxes, according to Cuyahoga County records. In a statement, the company didn’t mention the tax debt or any reason for the closure but did encourage the region to support inclusive spaces.
“While these circumstances are difficult, they do not diminish the impact this space has had or the ongoing need for places where LGBTQ+ people and allies can gather, create, and belong,” the statement reads.
Shortly after opening Studio West 117 on Hird Avenue, off Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, in 2022, owners Daniel Budish and Betsy Figgie purchased two vacant properties of the former Phantasy Nightclub around the corner on Detroit Avenue with help from a $5 million tax credit. The tax debt comes from all three properties.
LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland Executive Director Phyllis Harris said she is concerned with the small number of “truly, affirming LGBTQ+ spaces” in the region.
“My hope is that we take this as fuel, not discouragement, and continue to imagine and invest in places where our community can belong,” Harris said in a statement. “I’m keeping the people and the intentions behind Studio West 117 in my heart today."
Studio West 117 had a history of financially issues, including defaulting on more than $9 million in loans in 2023.
Former Studio West 117 employee Margaret Harper Jenkins said management was “tone deaf” toward LGBTQ+ staff and customers.
“I never felt like it was a place for LGBT people," Jenkins said. "I felt like it was a place for them to try and make LGBT people a profitable business. "They were failing to serve a community that they were claiming they wanted to help.”
Jenkins said LGBTQ+ businesses can thrive in the Northeast Ohio region.
“They 1000% can and they already do...it's not a matter of there not being enough gay people or something," Jenkins said.
Representatives from Studio West 117 did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
