Ottawa's Cafe Dekcuf shuttered due to 'economic downturn'

The live-music venue on Rideau Street was a key spot to showcase niche subcultures, from punk and metal to psychedelic electronic dance.

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Published Dec 30, 2024  •  Last updated 3 hours ago  •  3 minute read

Cafe Dekcuf at 221 Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa has closed. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /POSTMEDIA

The owners of Ottawa’s Cafe Dekcuf have closed the cheekily named live-music club on Rideau Street, leaving the landlord scrambling to make his January mortgage payment. 

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In a message posted to social media, Dekcuf owners Shane Boucher and Ben Belanger said their hearts were “heavy” in making the decision to close the club. They thanked supporters and apologized to the bands that were booked to perform in 2025. All upcoming shows are cancelled. 

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The second-floor club, which has a capacity ranging from 70 seated patrons to 150 standing, is located in the same building as Mavericks, a bigger live-music club on the main floor that has been fairly quiet in recent months while billing itself as an event space to rent. 

Mavericks’ owner Stéphane Trepanier was able to purchase the Rideau Street property in 2023, a move that made him Cafe Dekcuf’s landlord. He said Belanger sent him a curt message last Saturday informing him the upper-level premises had been vacated and the café would close on Dec. 31. 

“Please further be advised that due to the economic downtown in the economy (sic), there are no funds to further continue to pay the lease into the new year of 2025,” wrote Belanger, who did not respond Monday to a request for clarification. 

The situation frustrates Trepanier, who is out of the country on a family vacation, because he says they could have worked something out if Dekcuf owners had come to him earlier with their problems, or he could have found a new tenant. He said in an interview that four or five other interested parties have approached him this year about taking over the space. 

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Instead, he had three days’ notice to scrape together a mortgage payment of thousands.

Also worrisome is the possibility that the break in tenancy risks ending the existing liquor licence. If so, Trepannier said it could take months to get a new licence.  

Cafe Dekcuf at 221 Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /POSTMEDIA

It’s increasingly difficult to run a business in Ottawa’s downtown core, he added, partly because of the homeless population in the Rideau Street area. Vandals have broken into the Mavericks building, staff have been attacked and people camp on the doorstep. An extra security guard has to be hired for each event to keep ticketless folks out, he said. 

But Trepanier said it’s his dream to own a building on Rideau Street, and he’s not giving up. He looks forward to a fresh start in 2025, ideally with new tenants in the upstairs space, and the revitalized Mavericks set to open in the next couple of months. 

Meanwhile, people who have either performed at Dekcuf or attended shows over the last two decades have been sharing their memories on social media. 

Musician/producer Dean Watson recalled landing in Ottawa in 2002, not intending to stay in the city. 

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“Cafe Deckuf (sic) was at that time a mecca for the indie scene,” he wrote. “I was there a LOT. Loved the place and vibe. I met so many friends, saw and played countless shows there. I ended up getting busy making records with many folks I met through that scene and I suppose it had a part to play in me staying in Ottawa. Sad to see it go.”

Other fans described the cozy spot with exposed brick walls and a small stage as a staple in the Ottawa music scene. Many pointed out that it was a key spot to showcase niche subcultures, from punk and metal to psychedelic electronic dance. 

Cafe Dekcuf opened in 2001 in the space that housed another fondly remembered Ottawa live-music club of the 1990s, the Whipping Post. 

The name Dekcuf was derived by spelling an expletive in reverse. 

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