The Emporium, a popular bar and music venue in the heart of downtown Patchogue, abruptly closed its doors Friday.
No reason was publicly stated for the closure, a message on the venue’s website gave no clues and its Facebook page appears to have been disabled. It was still advertising upcoming events for this month, including a beer festival and a charity concert, as of Thursday evening.
“Out of business,” the website states. “The Emporium is officially closed. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding.”
The venue, which hosted a mix of big name and up-and-coming hip hop, rock and cover acts, was semi-regularly in the news over its nearly five years in existence.
Last fall, it hosted a campaign rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, triggering protests nearby.
In February 2016, a rapper from Ohio was arrested for allegedly firing a gun outside The Emporium after he opened for the hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
In March 2016, a co-owner, Frank Profeta, testified at the federal corruption trial of ex-Suffolk County Conservative Party Chairman Ed Walsh.
And one of the venue’s other co-owners, Timothy Lorito, filed a lawsuit against Suffolk County police officers that he accused of beating him after bouncers ejected an officers’ son from the club in 2013. That suit is pending in Central Islip federal court, records show.
Profeta did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement issued Monday, Lorito blamed “differences in agreement between its owners and partners” for the closure.
“I would like to thank our patrons for five wonderful years of serving the Long Island community with great live entertainment,” he said. “Let it be known that I have worked only in the capacity as a silent partner for the past eight months, and apologize for any inconvenience this closure has caused for those who had organized upcoming events, as the properties landlord is responsible for deposit returns on all cancellations as per our contract. I hope that any issues can be resolved, and these events relocated.”
