Bits and Pieces

 Hope springs eternal: Yes, the Gypsy Tea Room is closing. No, things don't look good for Deep Ellum; one problem is most of the poor souls who run clubs—or who have tried to run clubs, or who have tried to open clubs, or who have tried to re-open clubs—don't own the buildings housing said venues. So ultimately, they have no control over the destiny of said venue. If the landlord wants to sell it to Starbucks, well, so be it.

So it was good news to find out that Mike Schoder and his partner, Julia Garton, who have been running the Granada Theater since August of 2004, recently succeeded in purchasing the Granada building. The pair had been working on the purchase for three months, they tell us, and it was a done deal on Saturday, February 3. The two seem pretty dedicated to rocking the crap out of Lower Greenville, as well as bringing in a variety of more grown-up acts. Slated for the next few months: Midlake, Daniel Johnston (in the form of Danny and the Nightmares), Lucinda Williams, Explosions in the Sky, Blonde Redhead and a crateload of other quality acts. So as the storefronts crumble around us, at least we'll be able to count on the Granada. Even if there's a Starbucks next door.