This is a website dedicated to saving Brady's, and informing the people about what it going on. There will hopefully be new updates and information daily.
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CORRECTION!
Due to several miscommunications, the Save Brady's Coalition has been
using the wrong name of the new landowner. Grubb & Ellis is NOT the name of the new landowner- they are simply the brokers who handled the deal and had no direct input whatsoever- so please stop contacting them to protest about Brady's. The Coalition apologizes for any bad press that the name Grubb & Ellis has received unjustly. The correct name of David Bruening's company is GDR Partners, and they are the ones who now own Brady's. If you have any comments about Brady's, call David Bruening at
[216] 214-3484. This is still a very complicated situation and a lot of new information has been revealed. There will be a new post soon to help fill everyone in!
Thanks - The Save Brady's Coalition.
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Hi everyone!
An informational rally was held at Brady's Cafe on Sat. the 24th which lasted from 12-6pm, and was hosted by the Save Brady's Coalition. Approx. 400-500 fliers were distributed to passers-by, informing the public about the situation at Brady's and what they can do to help. Reporters and photographers from the Kent Stater, the Record Courier, and the Plain Dealer attended and conducted extensive interviews.
The local support was simply overwhelming as drivers blared their horns in response to the "Honk if you love Brady's" poster, and passengers reached arms out of car windows to receive fliers while stopped at the light at the Rt. 59 and Lincoln intersection. Students
and residents alike helped out with the event, which included live music on the street corner and free lemonade to the participating picketers.
At a Save Brady's Coalition meeting immediately after the rally, further plans were made. The Coalition announced that rallying would continue daily for the remainder of the week from 5-8pm; in addition, a very important rally is scheduled for Monday the 26th, from 9am to 1pm. David Bruening, Grubb & Ellis' representative, is supposed to be
visiting Brady's on Monday sometime between 9am and 1 pm, so it is imperative that a lot of people are there to demonstrate their committment to Brady's and the individuality of Kent! The Coalition also decided to go to Grubb & Ellis' corporate building in Cleveland soon to rally in support of Brady's- for more information on this, contact
savebradys@yahoo.com.
Thus, a breathtaking amount of progress has been made in a very short time. The coalition is also looking into the possibility of contacting Kent Alumni and various other organizations in an attempt to raise money and perhaps christen a new company name that will buy back Brady's from Grubb & Ellis, if it can be determined that that is an
option. The goal of the Coalition remains to have Grubb & Ellis offer Brady's a lease.
It is expected that the Coalition will recieve word from the State Historic Preservation Office by this Friday as to whether or not Brady's qualifies as a site for the National Register of Historic Places. The Coalition expects a positive outcome, as Brady's meets all of the requirements. The Coalition will release this information to the press as soon as it becomes available, and perhaps look into taking legal action in the form of putting a restraining order on Grubb & Ellis which would halt their plans until the National Register Application can be processed. Things are looking up!
As always, please write letters, make phone calls, and send emails to Grubb & Ellis to speak your mind concerning Brady's. Also, please contact our local talk radio station at 330-673-1234 to get on the air and speak your mind. The more people talking and finding out about this cause, the better!
Thanks for all of the support, keep it up, we can win this!
~The Save Brady's Coalition
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AUGUST 23: Andy Cohen to write song to help save Brady's!
Renowned veteran roots musician Andy Cohen (link to http://www.riverlarkmusic.com/), a one-time Brady's regular and organizer of the Kent Folk Festival for many years, has just written us from his home in Memphis, Tennessee, promising to write and send us a
song to help us in our struggle to save Brady's (thanks, Andy!). Listen for it, possibly performed by a reunited Cohen and the Barbarians, Kent's only marching blues band (sans Cohen) in future evenings at Brady's.
AUGUST 22: Brady's on Akron's Channel 23 News at 6:30! Reporter Kristen Capitena came out to Kent and got the Brady's experience, and her piece ran on Thursday, August 22nd's 6:30 news. She interviewed a number of avid Brady's supporters, some of whom said they came there every day, and that Kent just wouldn't be the same without it. One man was even quoted as saying that he had moved here from Washington State, and that the major factor that influenced his move was Brady's Cafe! Dave Bruening of Grubb & Ellis, predictably, was quoted as saying that booting Brady's was purely an economic decision, and that sometimes change is needed in order for his company to make more money. Give Dave a call at (216) 861-3040 and tell him money is not more
important than culture in our town.
