According to Stallings Jr., the Cheetah's closing was caused by a number of factors. At the same time, coincidentally, we sold it. We're in the real-estate business, not the nightclub business, and we had an offer that was more than fair, and we accepted it. There's not a whole lot more to it than that. Given the club's track record, questions inevitably arise as to whether there is more to it than that.
Downtown needs some competition.
Even more devastating to the local music scene, though, is the closing of another club, the Side Door . The decision was made for everyone. It wasn't like anyone decided to close last night. We couldn't reopen. In hindsight, that isn't surprising.