WATCH: Jennifer Palisoc interviews Michael Wekerle, the new owner of the El Mocambo Tavern.
TORONTO – Dragons’ Den cast member Michael Wekerle is the prospective eleventh hour buyer of Toronto’s historic El Mocambo Tavern.
The deal has not gone through yet but Wekerle says he wants the tavern to be at the center of a reinvigorated music scene.
“I used to try and sneak in this place numerous times when I was growing up just to see the acts,” Wekerle said.
“Toronto wouldn’t be the same without the El Mocambo; the Rolling Stones, Blondie, Stevie Ray Vaughan. The acts that played here are too numerous to mention.”
The iconic venue had been a mainstay on the Spadina Ave. strip since 1946.
In its heyday, El Mocambo played host to a number of famous musicians, including the Rolling Stones, U2, The Ramones, Meat Loaf, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Current owner Sam Grosso said potential buyers “came out of the woodwork” last month after he put the iconic neon sign on Ebay.
“A lot of people came out and were looking to see what was going on,” Grosso said. “And there was another offer on the table and we just kind of had to navigate through it and see what was going on and make sure it was the right purchaser.”
A Parkinson’s benefit concert is scheduled to grace the stage from 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. Thursday night.
Grosso said on Global News’ The Morning Show Thursday morning the cost of maintaining the music hall was just too great and the place was losing money.
WATCH: El Mocambo’s co-owner Sam Grosso speaks about the sale of the historic music hall
“It’s basically about anywhere from $1,000 to $1,200 a day just to keep the doors open,” he said. “Banks don’t usually want to touch that kind of property because of the nature of the business. So you’re kind of steered towards private lenders and the rates are more money.”
“And if you’re only selling cocktails and beers, it’s hard to keep it going.”
Grosso told the Toronto Star recently that he has had discussions with city officials and local groups to preserve the venue’s iconic palm tree sign when the location is sold.
READ MORE: Historic El Mocambo on sale for $3.95M
Questions have been raised about the venue’s musical future after rumours swirled that the new owners would perhaps turn it into a commercial or residential space.
“It could have been turned into a retail store, and it was on its way there to be turned into a retail store,” Grosso said.
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