FOX LA reports that Beetle House LA, a Halloween-themed restaurant and bar beloved for its immersive experiences and ghoulish charm, is on the brink of shutting down. Faced with multiple calamities, the Hollywood spot, which also functions as a nightclub and dinner theater, has been struggling to keep the unnerving fun alive.
Beetle House LA was vocal about their precarious situation in a candid Instagram post, detailing the avalanche of setbacks that have brought them to this point. "The pandemic shut us down for over a year. An investor pulled out, leaving us with a $500,000 hole. A manager stole $60,000 and vanished," the post revealed. With weekly costs of $50,000 to break even, a $40,000+ monthly rent, and over $30,000 in weekly payroll, the venue's financial strain has hit a critical level.
Despite the hardships, the owners are not throwing in the towel quite yet. On their Instagram, they expressed a determination to explore every possible solution: "We’re exploring everything: fundraising, private investors, relocating… but right now, we need people in the building spending money if we’re going to survive." A sense of urgency underpins their actions as they set up a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to sustain operations and overcome the significant financial obstacles. Their collective attitude seems to be one of worn resilience as they face what could be the last days of their unique establishment.
If they close, Beetle House LA would end its eight-year run marked by an affinity for the eccentric and the eerie. However, their sister location in New York remains "open and strong." The intended closure date for the LA venue looms ominously on July 1st, leaving patrons and supporters with little time to dig deep and potentially save this bastion of year-round Halloween culture. "If this is the end… we leave with gratitude and our heads held high," their Instagram post concluded, echoing a sentiment of stark yet hopeful finality.
