The Riot Room in Westport is officially closed. With no bands touring and no audience buying tickets, the live music venue was forced to shut its doors after taking large financial losses during the pandemic.
Riot Room co-owner Tim Gutschenritter confirmed the news to KCUR Monday, stating that the landlord has leased the property to someone else, though no information about who will move into the space has been released yet.
Tim has owned Riot Room for over a decade with his brother, Dallas. The brothers applied for small business COVID-19 relief funds but didn’t receive their grant money. They also created a GoFundMe account during the pandemic to keep the Riot Room afloat but came short of their $50,000 goal.
Fans have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment and reminisce on the Riot Room’s time on the Kansas City music scene.
I’ve never experienced concerts the way I did at The Riot Room. Sipping an imperial stout while watching indie hip-hop then mingling with performers afterwards because they really had no choice but to drink with the crowd. Even the worst “seat” in the house was still great.
— Patt with two T’s (@PatsHoppedUp) October 1, 2021
The Riot Room closing is so sad. I have sooo many great concert memories and met a lot of my favorite artists there.
— ♪ Re ♪ (@YungRereBaby) October 5, 2021
It’s still up in the air if Riot Room will return to a new location, but in the meantime, Riot Room’s upcoming concerts will likely be moved to new locations around KC.
