Popular youth hangout no longer has night hours.
When Johnny Salazar opened Red House one year ago this month, he intended it as a concert venue as well as a smoke, coffee and poster shop. With scarlet walls and furniture true to its ***image1***Jimi Hendrix-inspired name, the venue quickly became endeared to the city's under-21 crowd.
But since late last year, Red House has slashed its hours to a third of what they once were. Salazar says his neighbors' concerns about the age of his patrons is to blame.
The incident that triggered Red House's transformation occurred in late August. Jeff Middleton, owner of the popular tattoo and piercing store Aware, which is next door to Red House, says she entered her shop the morning after a Red House concert to find that lit matches had been dropped into Aware's mail slot.
Middleton says she is "very pro-kid"-many youth also patronize Aware-and "was indifferent about the situation." According to Middleton, "I don't hold Johnny or any of his clientele responsible for what happened." But she doesn't deny the incident frightened her. "The landlord released liability for the buildings during nights…I would have very little recourse to rebuild my shop had it burned down."
According to Salazar, "after that incident, the landlord as well as some of the tenants were not so comfortable with the element of youth here."
There were other incidents. Helen Quintana of Focus Printing and Graphics says her shop was tagged and paint-balled. She also says she was disturbed that there was traffic in and out of the parking lot when Red House had concerts. Seth Cox, manager of surf shop Beyond Waves, also has issues with Red House clientele. "As far as that subject, basically kids were hanging out, disrespecting the property," Cox says.
Subsequently landlord Paul DeDomenico informed Salazar that he and partner Bruce Besser (a board member on Santa Fe Community College's
governing board) were uncomfortable with Red House serving as a concert venue. "I was disappointed because I thought the concept was very good," DeDomenico says. "I like that he was providing a place for young people, especially at night. I'm disappointed it didn't work out."
Salazar was determined to make the Red House work as a concert venue. Because DeDomenico says he would be uncomfortable with Red House having concerts unless all neighboring tenants supported the idea, Salazar says he "approached all tenants about getting licensed security here and limiting shows to Friday and Saturday night." While the management of Beyond Waves and Fast Bucks, a payday loan business, were supportive, Aware and Focus Printing still had concerns. Middleton says she thought security was a good move but didn't lessen concerns about having little recourse to rebuild should someone damage property.
Salazar says Red House has been made into a scapegoat. "They were more concerned about their own backs," he says. "One incident ruined it for everyone. Are we saying having music played is going to incite vandalism?"
Salazar says even after Red House stopped having concerts, a building on the strip was vandalized. Red House patrons were initially blamed for the incident but the police later caught the vandals, who turned out to live in nearby apartments, he says.
Because half of his neighbors still refuse to support Red House having concerts, Salazar says he is flirting with the idea of having film and art showings. However, he says such showings would be impossible with Red House's restricted hours. In the meantime, Red House's patrons, some of whom circulated a petition to have concerts resume at Red House, feel the void created by the lack of concerts. Maria Romero, 16, says she attended a couple of concerts at Red House. "There's not much stuff to do. I go to house parties," she says. "I go to Warehouse [21] occasionally." But Romero, a Desert Academy student, says she prefers Red House because of its decór.
Salazar calls Red House's predicament a disappointment. "This place was packed, but now we're relying on the retail end of things," he says. "It would be nice to have the music, for the community, for the kids. There were hip-hop shows, MC battles, metal shows, touring bands. This kind of scene has not happened in Santa Fe for a while."
