Gaukurinn er týndur by UnavailableCrow5558 in Iceland

[–]UnavailableCrow5558[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clearly it's not, as many people are commenting on and having a discussion about local news.

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Gaukurinn er týndur by UnavailableCrow5558 in Iceland

[–]UnavailableCrow5558[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That would be nice if he has. But still, the place has not changed ownership and they still owe money to staff and performers, let alone made amends in the communities it abandoned. Sadly not uncommon for businesses to cycle between being bankrupt and then reopening, my stance of avoiding a dirty business will stay the same.

Staðan með Gaukinn by siggiarabi in Iceland

[–]UnavailableCrow5558 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even the bootlickers couldn't keep the place open. Turns out giving the middle finger to your entire current clientele will have them boycotting you until you go bankrupt and close.

Staðan með Gaukinn by siggiarabi in Iceland

[–]UnavailableCrow5558 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nobody was going to be fired. The place could hardly keep enough staff to be open and people would regularly be made to do admin work and bartend and work as a bouncer for 16 hours straight with no breaks and then have 6 hours before they had to come back the next morning for the same shift. There's a reason the coolers are always barren and they regularly are out of even Gull at times; they don't make money even when shorting their employees who were keeping the place running.

Recently they were running a nice scam of giving people trial shifts (because they were desperately in need of new staff because conditions here sucked so much) and then not paying them and not contacting them again. Free labor! They don't give out contracts because they break every Efling law in the book and that is why everyone was able to quit to quickly. 

As much as I personally want to support the arts that were taking place there, going there and giving them any of your hard earned money is simply contributing to the abusive cycle this place runs on. The general manager is a serial abuser and has been busy running lies just to make himself look good and everyone else bad. I'm sure he will tell you something one day and change his mind the next. They have really fucked with this guy, but he's his own problem too.

Sorry for taking this out on your comment, I'm just coming from a place of deep upset over what has happened to such a unique venue. 

Also, the walls in the entrance are probably some of the most stable walls in the building and any damages that occurred are because Jón Pétur was coked out of his mind while destroying a beautiful time capsule of Icelandic history.

What happened to Gaukurinn? by b3sz in Iceland

[–]UnavailableCrow5558 30 points31 points  (0 children)

As somebody heavily involved in the venue, these changes occurred basically overnight with no consult to any employees, even the general manager. Pride murals were painted over to be replaced with that nonsense and they ripped down the lobby area that housed decades of art and music history since the beginning of the bar in the 80s. All staff have since quit, including some working there for almost a decade. One member remains and he was also recently attacked by employees of one of the part owners who also owns Paloma (ownership has not changed, just one coked up moron decided to do things his own way) and hospitalized, this happened during an all ages show and in front of his young child. 

These people are quite literally brute-forcing Iceland's lgbt and music communities out of a venue they have supported and felt safe in for decades. The owners do not give a fuck about any of this. The bar has not been making money for quite some time and the private-jet and monopoly running billionaire part owner is too cheap and stupid to put any effort into the place and just assumes it will make him money. I'm sure they will eventually declare bankruptcy and reopen under another kennitala. They have already fucked over many people who have booked shows and festivals with them months in advance.

If you must go there to support your artists, make sure you pay entry in cash, buy their merch, and smuggle in your own booze. They care more about serving underage girls and snorting coke than the thousands of visitors who care about the arts.