By TOM CHESEK
The news has at least two generations of local residents disappointed and disgusted, but the Internet Café is “throwing in the towel,” says owner Joe Cullity.
In the wake of an incident that saw a recent show shut down by Red Bank inspectors, things had been touch-and-go at the all-ages club and coffeehouse that’s spotlighted everything from hardcore mini-megafests to Christian open mic nights.
But a sign posted at the venue’s alleyway entrance yesterday spelled out in no uncertain terms that iCafé has closed. Ditto for the venue’s website, on which the dates “1995 - 2008″ loom like a headstone inscription.
According to the notice credited to the iCafé’s management, “the rents, loss of customer base on the North side of town and rules artificially limiting the number of patrons that could attend our shows have finally taken their toll and made it impossible for us to continue.”
The shutdown follows events of Jan. 25, when a multi-band concert booked by Avail Entertainment and featuring the MySpace-spawned combo Eyes Set to Kill was halted when inspectors determined that the West Front Street venue’s legal occupancy limit had been far exceeded.
Dozens of angry ticketholders, who had reportedly paid $12 each, were turned away and forced to cool their heels in the arctic air of the adjacent alleyway. Those who ventured outside for any reason were denied re-entry, at least one band had the power cut to the stage in mid-set, and, most crushing of all to the crowd, the headliners were unable to perform before the plug was pulled on the entire evening.
In subsequent days, other scheduled events were either relocated or canceled outright. The beleaguered owner, who claimed to have had no problems with Avail until recently, said in comment posted on redbankgreen that “we considered the safety of the people inside the Café our primary mission, and asked the patrons to talk to the people from the production company about the problem and possible refunds.”
According to Cullity, who purchased the iCafé from Paul Bogdanovich in 2006, the promoters printed and distributed far more tickets to the show than the room could comfortably accommodate. Advance advertising and ticket stubs promised a bill of four bands; Cullity estimates that more than a dozen different groups showed up with expectations of playing that night.
With local bands commonly allocated approximately 50 tickets to peddle to friends and family members, the iCafé was faced with hundreds more patrons than the place could legally or safely handle.
In the aftermath, Cullity says, the iCafé’s occupancy limit was adjusted downward to 56 patrons, a number that he and Bogdanovich maintain is far below what the room could safely accommodate.
A meeting between Cullity and borough fire marshal Tom Welsh was scheduled for late Monday afternoon. Subsequent attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful, and redbankgreen has yet to hear back from borough officials with details about the Jan. 25 incident and Monday’s meeting.
Cullity, in an interview late last week, suggested that the capacity figure was set by the borough’s Parking Authority, but that the venue had been allowed by the fire department to function with many more patrons,
provided that the crowd behaved in an orderly fashion. Cullity said the Jan. 25 set by Bayshore-based Bring Forth Vengeance was halted after he saw some moshpit-style dancing was getting out of hand.
Cullity believes that the venue posed no disturbance to neighbors, and did the community a service by providing young people a safe and fun place in which to get creative and socialize. That’s a view echoed on the iCafé’s MySpace page, which has attracted RIP-themed comments from friends and patrons.
Cullity’s long-term prognosis for the downtown is not a sunny one. Watching the luxury custom-bike boutique Von Dutch pull up stakes and vacate its West Front Street space last week, the the software designer and former chief of the online NJ Coast News bemoaned the lack of mom-and-pop merchants to anchor the neighborhood when the upscale shops come and go. “The old-boy network in this town has done a bad job reaching out to the veteran businesspeople.”
Still, he hopes to be back.
“Right now I’m about ready to hide beneath the covers for two or three months,” Cullity told redbankgreen with a smile. “But I’ll come back in a new location. I’ve been part of the local music community for years. The music will continue; I just don’t know where right now.”
Let me see: if Red Bank doesn't want venues which make noise or attract crowds, maybe we can force some additional businesses out of that area and get Cartier to come and compete with Tif's.
But then, since other venues can simply pay to overcome their parking deficiencies, maybe it wasn't the crowds at all; just the "WRONG" crowd.
The town didnt close the place, the owner did. If the place wasnt making money to start and the only way to get kids in the door was to hold concerts then nix the whole cafe ides and open up a better place for holding these concerts.
One that fits the needs.
also,
Everytime i here folks complaining about occupancy levels, and safety code enforcment going overboard, I always think of that terrible Staion Night Club fire in road island.
Heres a link that every parent should read, and this was only five years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire
Oh yes, we definitely hosted the "WRONG" crowd— young people. I find it rather amusing that Red Bank has such a distaste for anyone under 30. Ten years ago, who paid any attention to Red Bank… before Tiffany's was ever here, and before you had to pay $38 for exceeding your parking meter time by 5 minutes? I believe it was, in fact, young people.
I once sat in on a River Center meeting, wherein store owners and members of the River Center redevelopement group had nothing more important to discuss than… KIDS.
For Red Bank to be a thriving community, we musn't shun any one group of individuals. Sadly, this town has lost touch with the true meaning of what a "hub city" really is… a place for all people.
With that being said, goodbye Internet Cafe! Damn you to hell for providing a nice, drug free environment for our youths!
I can't wait for what will open next at 1 West Front Street… I think a boutique for the posh domesticated house cat would compliment Paw Palace rather nicely.
All the more reason to support towns that are friendly to arts and music - like Asbury Park and New Brunswick.
yeah i think its pretty messed up the way everything went down. i went to the cafe 3-4 times a week for coffee, internet services, and live music. people can say whatever they want about the internet cafe. there's no denying the fact that it was a place rich with culture and diversity. my favorite night of the week was open mic night: when i could see acoustic music, poems, live comedy, and live hip hop all for $5.
i was just wondering- is there anything that can be done to save this place? i feel like it is the very heart of red bank; here before all the rich people stores ever wanted to be in town. this IS the type of place that supports "the arts"- an asset that hip city loves to brag about having.
The Internet cafe makes deals and then blows off business. It isnt a good venue. If they are to book shows such as Eyes Set To Kill (which is a large hardcore band) then they should know what they are getting into and if not that is ignorant aside bad business skills. You guys are trying to speak of being into local and free expressive music? Well the show that shut you down was definitely not that. IT was a large mainstream hardcore band that shut you down. Once again bringing up my own personal issue mentioned previously, you do not promise space and a set date for months "till you get a calendar" and then flake. You as an adult owning a business should be able to be responsible enough to take the stand to tell the party of interest that you either have that date anymore or not. You do not blow people off.
Learn to do business first (take some clsses, Joe. Do what you have to do. Know what you are getting yourself into) then try conducting a "venue" as previous. First and foremost, you should be passionate about the work that you do and obviously you were not if you didnt know the show or bands.
Way to go.
I agree with Phil, cuz they did the same BS to my friend who was trying to set up a show there. They gave them a date, and then never got back to them. Seriously, not cool.
I actually never liked this venue, it was a buncha fat old hippies and shit. I only liked playing there cuz I knew I was the complete opposite of the usual acoustic stuff that rolls through. And damn it was fun, the confusion I caused! Loud, rowdy rock music for the win. I guess the only loss is not too many other places I can get away with coming in and just being an asshole :D. Good luck, and hopefully you won't blow people off when you book them. Or blow people. Don't do that either
Its a shame as there are less & less places for original music and it was one of them. The world needs more music not less and musicians need a place to show their talent off. If loud msic is a problem then why arent other clubs being harassed. I guess money talks real music walks.
i used to go to icafe on a regular basis. it was a great place to play & hear original music. it had a great friendly vibe when i first started going. i remember at the open mics on sunday, paul would actually take pictures of each performer. but then he stopped doing that. and eventually he didn't seem to give a crap anymore. it was obvious. and when joe took it over, he tried to re-create that great vibe of the past. he did for a while, but then he started doing negative things like: raising prices, and needing to have minimums for shows (or else the performers wouldn't get paid and/or performers wouldn't be able to perform???). shows weren't even displayed on their myspace properly, which is an easy 2-minute task. it became disorganized. the bathrooms were gross.
if you re-open somewhere else, re-consider all these things i mentioned.
business is business. joe cullity has NO IDEA how to run a business. he let things get out of hand the minute he bought the place by letting three teenage girls be his managers.
to compliment that he raised the prices, would flake out on anyone who asked him to make a decision, refused to keep a calendar of events, update the shows sections of the myspace and the website, and blame everyone else for his problems.
joe started his own version of pay to play. he stared to charge more for the open mic! people should get the money back from the cafe, and the cafe should get it back from the promoter who he let run the show that night.
the limit is down to 56 because joe could not handle his weight in the business end of it, and everyone suffers. red bank's mom and pop stores have been gone because red bank was dying. they brought in someone who redesigned the downtown. it's called urban development. now the town is bustling with business in downtown and they are in the works to build more, weather you like it or not.
and why have you not been keeping up on the arts? the arts in red bank have been long gone! this is no haight of the 60's and never was - even the haight has been commercialized (but at least it's sunny!).
where else can you play music? chubby's ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CAFE is great and they have all ages shows from jersey shows. try looking into asbury and the real hub city.
joe cullity is just another guy trying to fit in with the kids he wanted to well, we all know about that. and a drug free place to be - a place where a whole bunch of kids with their parent's money are with nothing to do? please.
the problem at the cafe started with a someone lying about their passion for music. it has ended in red bank having enough.
the only thing left is for YOU do do something about it. weather it be find a new place to hang, hang joe out to dry for not being a business man,start a cover band with your friends and make money, or get over that red bank is not the place it once was 10 years ago, stand up and do something.
and i think they should put a dance club where the cafe was. at least music will still be there.
The negative feedback I'm reading here really blows my mind. Personal attacks toward the owner and his capacity are out-of-line considering this is a direct result of ONE particular show, not an end result of a semi-downward spiral in business.
Do your homework.
The rest just seems to be spite, after having been slighted (keep in touch with the people who book you, people. you're blaming other people for your problems.), and general downtalk at the 'fat hippies' or the cafe itself.
Whether you're a fan or not, this situation could have been rectified in a different manner.. and maybe Red Bank isn't the town it was ten years ago. I think that's pretty sad.
So have fun all of you uncaring folks. Talk about 'the real' this or 'how it is' with that. Fact of the matter is, this place was one of the remaining staples of the town. Your callousness doesn't change that.
People care.
The place had a limit of 56 people as a cafe when I worked there. Joe paid too much for the place and started booking rock bands instead of the coffee house acts the palce was designed for. I heard he was eek to week on the rents as it was and was trying to get the most $$$$$ out of the place before he closed the place anyway!!!
What do ya expect when he lets 300 plus people in a space designed for 56…….!
It's a sad day to see the internet cafe close — we all had such fun back in the day when bobby strange was running the open mics on sundays. it was a place to get great coffee and conversation with Paul. but let us not loose sight of why the internet is closing. Let's see the forest through the trees — simply put, the town itself is changing. big business is moving in and pushing mom and pop out. it was a struggle for the new owner to make a profit when the landlord was charging so much money for rent. In the end, the landlord got what he wanted — a vacant building so he can rip it down and build more profitable space. Greed is closing all the stores in red bank. in a few years, it will be "dead bank" again and we'll be back to square one. long live our memories of the internet cafe!
i remember when improv was there too. me and my friends would go every week. in it's heyday, that place was the coolest place to hang out.
do your homework! this is an end result of a semi-downward spiral in business. this is a direct result of joe cullity's lack of business savvy and passion for the craft. end of story!
a different manner? sure - have joe give a shit or sell the cafe to someone who knows how to run a business like a business.
and - joe cullity has given MANY MANY people a great reason to spite him for one reason or another. everything from sexual harassment to flaking on a gig. name something!
Nobody working, Joe included, knew how many bands were actually going to play that night. Get it? there were only supposed to be 4-5. The promoter- Avail Entertainment- went behind our backs and combined 2 shows into one.
And ok, so "Eyes Set to Kill" is a popular band… does the genre or level of popularity mean it is NOT expressive music?
As for the complaints about booking dates, check it out: between email, myspace messages, and phone calls, we get about 200 people EVERY DAY requesting dates and wanting to play. If you want something, go for it; don't ask and expect for someone else to babysit your wants and needs. This isn't me defending Joe, it's me being realistic.
Two more points before I go:
-Paul never stopped "giving a crap" about this place, and if you hung around the Cafe AT ALL you would know that. He wasn't taking pictures every week at open mic anymore? Aww, what a shame… you had to go to the iCafe website and look at outdated pictures of yourself. Give me a f'n break. He was obviously doing something right… had the place running just fine for 11 years.
-Good luck looking to Chubby's to provide affordable live music, they will be gone soon as well.
Know your topics before you discuss them
regardless, there is no place for artists, musicians, comedians, or poets to perform in red bank anymore…too bad asbury is still as unsafe as it is…timing is everything, i guess…
asbury is unsafe? for who?
high school aged kids…what parent in their right mind is going to send their kid to asbury at night? there is NO parking, and the criminal element surrounds the "gentrified" areas like indians around a wagon train…
Or how about Mormons around a wagon train?
THIS PLACE WAS THE BEST. I GREW UP IN THIS PLACE! I WISH PEOPLE WOULD STOP BEING SO NEGATIVE ABOUT IT. IF YOU'RE MAD AT JOE FOR RUINING A GOOD THING, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE- BUT THIS PLACE WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THE NICEST JOINT IN TOWN AND THE PEOPLE WORKING THE COUNTER GOT TO KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS AND CARED ABOUT THEM-UNLIKE STARBUCKS!
good thing for you it closed…you could use a break from caffeine…
love the no joe's ad at the top of this page.
the people woking behind the counter were not getting to know the customers, they were looking for prey =)
joe fukd it all up. every1 knows that.
and cookman ave in asbury. btw - if you drop off the kids - dont you pick them back up? or are you just afraid of them catching the gay….
I worked the counter. What prey were I (or anyone esle for that matter) supposedly looking for? Haha.
The No-Joe's ad is up there because they pay for it to be up there. And good for them! We don't have beef.
Also, I'm pretty sure parents are less concerned with their kids catching "gay" than they are concerned with physical safety.
yeah, the girls behind the counter were hot, but they were like cougars to those poor skinny little emo boys…
hey everyone,
i love all the ballsy comments form all of those who dont even have the balls to leave there names. i am a former worker of the i cafe and yo WE did dont prey on any little boys, or any one for that matter, get real, we're a bit old for that. another thing teenageres are just as capable to manage a buisness as any one else, and all but one of the managers were NOT teenagers(and that was only for a short time). by the way i hope it makes you feel good picking on the employees who busted their asses trying to keep the place alive.
to whom ever made the comment about "fat hippies" whet the hell are you talking about and waht the hell is wrong with you? whats wrong with with hippies? people who actually care about the enviorment wow, what a horribe thing!? oh!? obviously you have no idea what you are talking about, you've obviously never been in there…
grow up people!
-cassie sweeney
deffination from urbandictionary.com
couger 213 up, 68 down
An older woman around age 50-80 who looks to pick up younger boys, they prefer teenagers over all (around 14-17). But if they can, they will look for boys with the name Tim.
Tim says: hey man im gonna go inside real quick
friend says: ok
old woman: ooo look at the young boy.. hes just my type and i heard his friend call him tim, ill try to sell him these fake tickets to a fake movie in an abandoned movie theatre where ill make my move on him.
overall- All tims, watch out for cougers..
–i personally have never heard this expression before… so i dont even know b/c none of us are any wear near that age…
"my favorite night of the week was open mic night: when i could see acoustic music, poems, live comedy, and live hip hop all for $5."
REPLY: The three venues I know of in the area that have successful open mics DO NOT CHARGE people to play. Their open mics are free.
"then he started doing negative things like: raising prices, and needing to have minimums for shows (or else the performers wouldn't get paid and/or performers wouldn't be able to perform???)."
REPLY: This is total bullsh/it and the main reason why I would never play there.
"joe cullity is just another guy trying to fit in with the kids he wanted to well, we all know about that."
REPLY: If this is true then he deserved to lose his business.
"and i think they should put a dance club where the cafe was. at least music will still be there."
REPLY: Been there, done that. In the '80s the locale where Chubby's is now was a dance club called Brokers.
They also don't charge people to LISTEN to the open mic performers.
Wow!
I just found out this BLOG has been going on.
I want to start off by thanking all of the staff that worked for me during the 18 months that we were somehow able to keep the Cafe afloat. It was a much harder endeavor then any of us could have ever imagined, and I know it took a serious toll on not just myself, but all of the staff that struggled against impossible odds to keep the Cafe alive. Every one who worked for me performed above and beyond my wildest expiations.
I also want to thank the people that posted supportive comments and respond to some of the negative criticism I found here and maybe just explain why some things happened the way they did.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Phil posted … you do not promise space and a set date for months "till you get a calendar" …
Joe's Response> Actually not having a calender was a lie. Money was very tight and I ask the staff to please keep their mouths shut about the situation. The real reason we refused to book shows near the end was that we didn't want to book shows when we weren't sure we'd be open to host the show.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Posted by: Sandor ….when joe took it over, he tried to re-create that great vibe of the past. he did for a while, but then he started doing negative things like: raising prices, and needing to have minimums for shows
Joe's Response> I wonder if anyone has ever looked at what it cost a month to keep the Cafe going. When I took the Cafe over, the best lease I was able to secure, was 20% higher then what Paul (the former owner) was paying. Actually not a bad deal by Red Bank standards. Remember that Paul's lease was signed 5 years earlier when rents were much cheaper. If you just add the major expenses Rent, Water, Property Taxes, Electrical Bill and the Garbage Disposal Bill together, it comes to well over $7,000 a month. Then add in the salaries needed to staff just the counter 7 days a week, and the tons of nickel and dime expenses (I still can't figure out how, but we went threw over a case of toilet paper every 10 days,) a case of paper towels every week… paper cups, plastic spoons, phone bills, alarm company bills, Oops, I forgot a big one. We had to spend money to buy all the food, cakes, pies… we sold. I could probably list out a page worth of stuff - you ended up needing to make over $500 a day just to cover the basic cafe (Not Show) expenses.. Yes we did have to raise prices. And as for the minimums, take a look at the open mic. Near the end, Billy Swift and Megan Mosher had really revived the open mike, we were getting 35 to 40 people in for each show, but 40 people buying $4 each only put $160 a show into the coffers (Remember the $4 was a minimum that could be spent on food, NOT an entry fee), no where near the $500 a day we needed to keep the place open.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Posted by: Jill
sure - have joe give a shit or sell the cafe to someone who knows how to run a business like a business.
and - joe cullity has given MANY MANY people a great reason to spite him for one reason or another.
Joe's Response> Hi Jill (whoever you are?) 1st remember Joe Cullity gave hundreds of people their first chance to perform on a stage or maybe a floor, in a courtyard, or public park…at The Internet Cafe, Indigo Coffee House, Green Planet, Mr Moons, The Broadway Central Cafe… and lots of other great venues- Many of which have also closed their doors. While you might be upset at the cafe's closing, the vast majority of people who did do their 1st show with me are still performing, many at shows I now host at other venues. As to trying to sell the Cafe. We did try very hard to sell the place. Talked to a number of listing agents but always got the same reply. The rent & taxes were too high, the location was bad, parking was impossible, the economy was tanking and even at a giveaway fire sale price (Hows %80 off what I paid for the Cafe) their were no takers.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Anyway some people seem to think I should have done more BIG shows, Some blame me for not doing enough SMALL shows, Many people said I should have Up Scaled the food. Lots of people are sure if the food prices were Lower I would have done better. I've been yelled at for not keeping the Cafe open enough hours during the day, and scolded for wasting money keeping the Cafe open during times of low volume. I guess that proves you just can't keep every one happy. I'm sure that even the nastiest of posters are just frustrated (as am I) that another great venue has closed there doors. That said, I'm a pretty thick skeined, block headed Irishmen and can withstand a good pounding, so if it makes you feel better to vent, fire away! But far more important… if you have any good ideas on how to support original music in Monmouth County or can think of a venue that could support live music please leave me a posting. Now that I know this BLOG exists, I'll make sure to check back from time to time to see where the threads lead.
Joe Cullity
Wow is right.
I spent my entire summer of 06 dealing with all of the town officials, accountants, lawyers, banks, etc., to get the internet cafe opened under new ownership. I also managed the place until december of 06. (If you don't know the reason I left, then ask sgt. milko) the real problem with the cafe was a terrible management scheme. Cullity planned to run the his business "as a democracy" and anyone who has ever worked in food service KNOWS that simply doesn't work.
Another thing that doesn't work is having 15 employees for that tiny little place. I was responsible for all of the banking, payroll, accounts payable and receivable. In fact, I still have copies of the notes that I made regarding the excessive spending. Rent was always $5221.10 until the day he closed (and there were no property taxes, by the way). The electric was about $300, and the employees cost an average of $10,000/month for the first 3 months. And in the entire duration of joe's ownership, only 3 out of the 20+ employees he had would ever take out garbage or clean a bathroom. Aside from regular bills, joe spent an average of $900/month between lowes and michael's. That's quite a bit of money considering the place looked worse and worse everyday.
So consider that.
Joe is a terrible businessman, a slob, and a terrible friend to boot. He never listened when I warned him about spending $30,000/month to keep that place open. We weren't even making $3000/month! It became apparent that iCafe was doomed to fail very quickly. And so it has.
And so I say, "I told you so"
Wow Joe, I'm surprised you stayed open as long as you did, with employees like Anna. Nice to know that when things were rough, you had the support of you staff.
Unfortunately, just being the AP clerk, doesn't give you a business degree and even with a business degree, it's tough. So,unless all you naysayers have a sucessful business venture on your resume, try it first, then, IF you suceed, you can tell eveyone else how it should be done.
Oh well, maybe next time. I wish you the best.
Hey Anna:
Why don't you use your full name, so if anyone wants to do a web search/check to see if your a good employee with a good record for keeping good books and remembering the facts, they can do a Google search and see how well you remember stuff
Sorry to inform you that you are WRONG about your facts. Lately, you seem to be forgetting a bunch of stuff that you help negotiate, or were you just a sloppy bookkeeper with a bad memory? They gave us a 20% break on the 1st years rent, but after one year it went up, and (unlike Paul's original lease) would continue to increase every year for the full 5 years. I'm not suppose to post the exact numbers, but I do still have copies (Since you were keeping the books, you should also have copies. perhaps you shroud read them before posting stupid and wrong data! ). Your welcome to re-read mine if you wish. I don't believe the electric bill was ever under $500 and usually hovered around $700 a month (and you know that) and in one bill in mid summer topped $1,400 (I have copies if you want to see them). Now go take a look at the rent bill (if you still have copies?). Rent, Property tax, Watter Usage and Sewerage were all tagged on in addition to the rent (also a change from Paul's original lease)
It seems that Anna was a terrible book keeper with a very poor memory! And while Anna may have a big beef with all the employs. I had very little trouble having them clean up and do their duties most of the times
Joe Cullity
Seems Anna got punched in the face by Joseph Cullity.
On File at Red Bank Police Department.
Loved all of the employees. Except Dara.
Seems Joe is an idiot.
Also seems like Joe is so terrible at running his own business that he blew $750,000 in less than 2 years and wants to blame it on the girl who only worked there for a few months.
curious.
also seems that joe is a liar.
what the heck type of bookkeeper would provide confidental company information on public websites? I guess this is why companies need to have strict employment contracts.
Good luck getting another job Anna… maybe a career in HR would make you happy. It would provide you access to lots of personal information that you could post on the internet.
Ever hear the word discrete? Many people value that trait when it comes to their financial and personal information.
after reading your stuff im suprised he only 'allegedly' punched you in the face. A good ass kicking would have seemed better suited, by him and all of the 'cougars'….what a tw@t you had doing your books Joe.
Hi:
My Name's Joe Cullity, the guy who use to own The Internet Cafe in Red Bank. If your a friend of mine, I'm sure you know how to find me.
First:
I'd like to thank all the friends who called me up today and had me check what was said here, and I'd also like to thank them for not posting any stupid responses until l can make sure who all the players really are.
Second:
From now on, EVERYONE should stop hiding behind handles, nick name – or – just using 1st names. Lets be honest and use their real, full name and give us some way to verify who you really are.
Third:
I really want to make sure that some people looking to start a fight or cause other people grief are not pretending to be someone else and posting things in their name just to cause trouble. It will probably take till Tuesday night to find everyone I need to talk to.
Finally:
If your a friend of mine and read these postings PLEASE hold your tong for a day or two and don't post your thoughts and more important don't post anyone else's personal information until we can verify identities.
Thanks Joe Cullity
HEY,
I'd like to state my feelings on this issue.
Most people know me as Jupiter, one of the managers at The Internet Cafe'. It is a horrible shame the cafe' shut down, but In my own personally experience there… I knew it was happening.
When I first met Joe Cullity, He told me he had a Magazine call "NJ Coast" and paid me to write articles and interview bands. After realizing there was no magazine and that the whole thing was just most likely to get me to socialize with him, He offered me a job at The Internet Cafe' on October 2006.
Mainly the place was lost and confused as soon as Joe had entered. The menus were all f*cked up and any time i tried to make something off of it, we didn't have the right ingredients, or something else. It would fruastrate me to know end that i had to be a cashier, cook, booking agent, janitor, Joes therapist, sound board, and more. I felt that I was keeping the place running and I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks that. It was so annoying to be around Joe after awhile and I only wanted to work when he wasn't there. For reasons of sexual harassment.
Joe would tell me for months that the place was closing before it was even going to and promised me unemployment. With the plans of my life on unemployment and the cafe' going to shit I really had no care for anything. The day Joe gave me shit about the Art Gallery i set up for the walls, I completly had it with him and demanded to be fired to collect the unemployment.
I just wanted to be away from him and all the bullshit at the cafe'. Although I missed all my girls that worked there and the costumers too. Months later I started helping at the cafe' again and things seemed to be going really well with Allie taking my spot as manager and running Joes business for him.
The day of the "last show" with the cops and fire marshalls -
Everyone was packed in like sardines, So many people wanted to get in, it was crazy. We had alot of attitude problems from costumers that night. We kept having people leave and let new people as the night went on. Avail really wanted to let as many people as possible not really giving any care to Joe. The show was making more then 1,000 dollars only an hour into it. I was so over whelmed it was a day I will never forget in Internet cafe' History.
Long live Internet CAfe' Redbank will never be the same.
I love all my Icafe' girls!!
Any way to Joe -
So this whole article is kind of cool for you in a way, giving you publicity. I wouldnt take any of this to heart. People will always have there opinions.
Anna was using you, because raising a kid is expensive. It's disgusting but true-she didn't give a damn about you, the cafe, or anyone but herself. Other people used your business as a place to do homework or drink till they hit the floor. It's ok though, because you were using every single person that worked there as something to think about when you were at home alone. If you know what I mean.
Stumbled across this post while doing the old "Google you and your friends names" while resting in WoW. Interesting for a couple of things that jumped out at me. First, the original article isn't dated, so I have no idea when it was published. The first reply is the beginning of Feb, the second the end of March. Now either no one gave a tinker's toot about this at first, or someone's been deleting posts. Hmmmmmmm…. I think the latter, as there seems to be references to replies that aren't there anymore.
Anyway, let's see my resume, just to be clear. I have managed a couple of businesses, putting one in the black in just six months after grand opening, a rather neat trick. I have been a manager of several businesses that deal in precious metals and gemstones. We did almost a quarter of a million dollars in business so far this month, and it isn't over. So, yeah, I know about business, but don't have a sheepskin to certify that. But I'll match my 24 years at this place of business with any truck driver's business degree.
This Cullity person was right on when he was talking about cost of business. I have had that conversation with I don't know how many of my customers about how much needs to be realized on a given sale to contribute to the GP for the month. (That's Gross Profit, the dollar amount in between what you directly paid for an item and its selling cost, not taking into account overhead. Figured I'd explain that in case any of you truck driving BA's were reading at a red light.)
Anyway, next time you are in a business, start looking around, see the pretty lights and nice showcases (if it's a store) or the free condiments, napkins and straws (if it's a cafe/restaurant) and realize they are not free to the owner of said business. You, as a customer, pay for them.
If a store's net operating cost goes up and its volume of business doesn't, then prices have to go up to cover the costs.
I have been to open mike nights at lots of clubs in several states, and one by one the venues go away, not simply because of lack of support from patrons, but also because of complaints from neighbors of the club, lease issues, etc. Hey, isn't it all fun to get fired up on some music and break some bottles, well, the guy the next day with the flat tire might not think so as he's late for work.
There's usually more than one issue involved in the closing of a business, as owners, between pride and stubborness, are rarely that ready to toss in the towel and give up on all the hours of sweat and worry trying to open and maintain that business.
So, maybe before you start yammering about how rotten an individual is, ya ought to sit down and talk with him, listen to what he says, read his posted replies, and perhaps pursue a thought intelligently and in greater depth, instead of accusations that are often laughable, if you know the person involved, but damaging if you don't know them.
Remember I said I found this Googling friend's names? Yeah, I know Joe, longer than any of you, gauran-freaking-teed. Like over 40 years. So before you go smashing someone's reputation and character, try digging a bit deeper and with open eyes, not with preconceived notions. His replies make more sense than most of the aspersions cast at him.
EB
"try digging a bit deeper and with open eyes, not with preconceived notions."
the article was published on feb 6 (the dates are at the bottom of every article) and if you "digged a bit deeper", there is a previous page of posts that include comments back from that date. no conspiracy here. nothing was deleted.
Oooo! Got me there, I missed that the date is a footer, not a header! DOH!
But what I meant was that there was kinda a big gap between Feb 6 and March 30 when the next post seems to be dated. What led me to believe is that the March 30 post starts out with
"hey everyone,
i love all the ballsy comments form all of those who dont even have the balls to leave there names."
Hmmmm… if this is the first reply to the original post, to what ballsy comments are the writer refering?
See why I was confused, after all, this is the first time I stumbled over this lovely spot of social commentary, and I do admit it was late at night, as I said, while taking a break from WoW.
Anyway…. I've never been to the cafe, but I do know it's really hard to run a business. Not all businesses succeed, regardless of what the CEO has framed on his office wall. But it takes a few "at bats", sometimes, when someone is trying to get something moving along. That they fail isn't a testament to their character, or even their intelligence… after all, picking a bad location, changing external situations can affect internal situations of the business. Demographics, the surrounding mood of the neighbors, whatever.
Anyhow, read this, ignore this, makes no never mind to me, since I probably won't be passing this way again, after all, I've managed to not be in New Jersey for over 25 years, and I often see wonderful reminders of why that's such a good idea.
EB
Ed,
Scroll to the bottom of the page, and after the last post, you'll see a link that says ">" link more prominent, and maybe put "Next page of comments" to make it clearer what the link does. After the feature was introduced, it was 2 days before I noticed the "Next >>" link at the bottom of the page, and I was ready to stop trying to read comments on RBG.
While I'm complaining, there is nothing to indicate how many pages of comments there are and what page you're on.
Even worse is that if you click on a commenter's name in the "Recent Comments" section, if the comment is not on the first page of comments, you aren't taken automatically to the commenter's comment. You're taken to the first page of comments, and you have to click "Next >>" until you reach the last page of comments (usually there are only 2 pages, but still), then scroll down to the bottom.
Wow, the RBG text editor ate some of my post. I guess the < characters freaked it out.
Anyway, Ed, part of the post was to look after the last post for a "Previous" link. Click on that and you'll see the first page of comments. (Confusingly, the story at the top appears exactly the same, so there is no indication that you've moved to a different page until you scroll down and read the comments.)
Have you ever been to this man's house? I mean, before it was repo'd? It looked like something out of a horror movie. Unopened bills stacked almost as high as the ceiling, with grass in the yard almost as high as the house itself. This man cares not about reality. Or responsibility.
Probably lost the damn house because of all those unopened bills. Cause he was too effin lazy! I worked at the Int.Cafe on and off, and I can tell you right now, he ran the place like it was Parker Brother's game that didn't count for shit.
And as for the people who speak of his perverted nature, don't try to tell them otherwise. If you're not young and you don't have breasts or a vagina, you have no idea what it felt like to work for this "man".