The Balcony Club
As previously reported, changes are afoot for the Lakewood Theater in Lakewood Shopping Center.
The current tenant’s lease is up at the end of January, and the theater’s owners have indicated a strong possibility that it will be carved up into two or three spaces to accommodate dining or retail tenants. The Lakewood Theater owners have been in talks with at least two theater groups that may be interested in leasing or buying the space, including the Alamo Drafthouse.
So what will happen to The Balcony Club, the jazz venue that sits at the top of the stairs in front of the Lakewood Theater?
According to Craig Kinney of Willingham-Rutledge, the company that owns the southwest part of the Lakewood shopping center, The Balcony Club is safe — for now.
Kinney says The Balcony Club’s owner, Teddy Davey, signed a one-year extension to keep The Balcony Club in operation in its current space; however, either the tenant or landlord may terminate it at any time, Kinney says.
“We, the landlord, would really love to keep The Balcony Club,” Kinney says, but ultimately the future of The Balcony Club hinges on the future of the theater.
If the new Lakewood Theater tenant says The Balcony Club can stay, then it can stay. If the new tenant wants the entire space, including the 1,400-square-feet currently occupied by The Balcony Club, then the club has to go.
“Whether or not The Balcony Club stays will depend on who we lease the theater to,” Kinney explains.
