Knucklebones Closing

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Knucklebones is apparently being forced to close. Does anyone have more insight into the situation?

Letter from the owner explaining:

Date: Wed, May 30, 2012 at 9:09 AM
Subject: Important Epicenter News


Hello Loyal Knucklebones Followers,

Before news spreads we wanted to share with you directly, we will be
closing the Epicenter on June 30th. As many have already heard, three
weeks before we were to open in December our investor backed out.
This forced us to alter our original plan of "Interactive Toy Store"
to "Play Space with a Toy Store" because we simply did not have the
funds for shelving, inventory, check out system, etc. Our vision had
to be put on hold but we moved forward with what we could afford and
what we thought would be successful. As you have helped to prove,
this concept has been a success and a lot of fun!

For the past few months we’ve been in discussions with the City of
Cambridge due to a neighbor complaining about our backyard use.
Although we have only used the yard for three parties (from
October-May) for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes, this neighbor
contacted the police and filed a formal complaint. After coming to an
agreement with the City that we will no longer use the backyard for
paid activities, we thought our troubles had come to an end. However,
a week later the City placed a Cease and Desist Order on all paid
activities essentially ending ‘Open Play’ and any classes due to
zoning regulations. Although we had hoped to be a functioning Toy
Store by this time we know that testing products is what makes our
store unique and we are not willing to give up that portion of our
vision and become ‘just another toy store’.

Although the Epicenter will be closing you can still get your KB fix
as we will continue traveling to our clients for play services and
we're looking to run a weekly ‘Open Play’ at the Arts at the Armory.
Of course, you still have the entire month of June to enjoy the
Epicenter’s Open Play, Creative Movement class and purchase remaining
inventory. Beginning Friday, June 1st we will have a Flash Sale of
our current inventory, priced better than Amazon. We will also be
offering reduced rate memberships for $55 (one child) and $50 for
siblings as a Thank You closeout for the month. Open Play will remain
at $7 for the day and we will still host parties through the end of
the month.

I know this news may come as a shock to many of you, it did to us as
well. It has been a fantastic six months and you have been an
integral part of it! Of course, we're excited to move forward to find
a new space, with the correct zoning, for our unique vision of an
interactive toy store. Feel free to provide us any information to
help us locate our next "perfect" location. Thank you for your
support and remember to think of us anytime you need fun and healthy
athletics, retail, consultation, etc...for love of play!

Mitch

Founder | CVO
Knucklebones
196 Elm Street North
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-851-2928
www.Knucklebones.us

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

If I had such extenuating circumstances, I'd talk to my neighboring business and try to come up with a mutually agreeable solution (no loud noises from X to Y time?) instead of filing formal complaints with the police, shutting down any possibility of conversation.

[veek.livejournal.com]

"Although we have only used the yard for three parties (from October-May) for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes..."

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I'm not an expert since when my son has been there, it's generally been with other family members, but I remember asking about the yard a while back because it looked so awesome and was told it was not available for open play.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Many yards in the area regularly have a bunch of kids playing loudly in them -- it's not as though that sort of thing is particular to a business. I want to know what's going on here, too. Calling the police because you can hear little kids playing for an hour seems a little extreme to me. Does that person do that to their residential neighbors, too?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Calling the police because you can hear little kids playing for an hour seems a little extreme to me.

Seriously.
And that's coming from a cantankerous before his time person.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Legit, maybe! But there are better and worse ways to go about complaining, and the neighbor seems to have chosen the most assholish.

[veek.livejournal.com]

It is the most assholish because, as I said, it precludes any conversation that might have resulted in a mutually agreeable solution. The neighbor does not seem to have been interested in that, since they didn't attempt it. Their prerogative, on paper, but an asshole move.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. Davis isn't an adults-only subdivision or something. People have kids, and they play. Heaven help these butt-hurters if they had heard my neighborhood when I was a child, and the racket we made from sun-up to sundown.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

This. Noise, whether from kids or adults or animals is one of the hazards of living in the city. I daresay that calling the cops on a business for kids because of 3 instances of 1 and a quarter hours of kids being kids outside, during the daytime, is more than extreme. It's pure douchebaggery. And as someone who has been woken up by kids before I had my own offspring, when I desperately needed the sleep, I can still say that.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

If someone next door opened a nannying business with a ton of kids playing in the yard, I would file a complaint as well.