Howlers, a mainstay of the Pittsburgh music scene, is ending its 19-year run in Bloomfield.
The club will close its Liberty Avenue location on Aug. 30 and reopen at a new location in East Liberty in September, according to owner Susan Coe.
“We got a new landlord and he was unwilling to give me a long-term lease. It was sort of a take-it-or-leave-it situation” said Coe. “I wasn’t ready to just close up shop and be done. I like supporting the live music in Pittsburgh. I’ve been doing that for 19 years.”
Coe said that a lease has already been secured for the spot of Howlers’ new home, but she is not ready to disclose the specific location just yet.
“Overall, the whole situation saddens me,” she said. “But I have to look at the silver lining and look at it as an opportunity instead of being sad about it.”
Coe said she will be catering to a different client base, but is hoping Howlers will remain a destination spot for everything from punk and metal music to Americana.
“We’re going to do lots of different genres of music like we’ve always done,” said Coe, who added that she remains committed to showcasing small-scale national acts as well as Pittsburgh bands.
“Right now, although we do have a lot of neighborhood people come, we have a lot of people who follow bands or are in bands who come as well and have become part of the regular customer base.”
The final shows at Howlers’ Bloomfield location will happen over Little Italy Days in mid-August.
