End for Stanhope House? Vote Tuesday could decide fate of famed blues venue

UPDATE: Stanhope House redevelopment rejected by council. Here are the details.

Blues fans say it's a matter of music history.

Government officials say it's a matter of law.

The battle over the Stanhope House, a storied blues venue in Sussex County where Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Stevie Ray Vaughan played, could be decided Tuesday — when a vote could clear the way for the historic roadhouse to be demolished.

A redevelopment plan, to be voted on by the Stanhope Borough Council, would open the way for the 230-year-old structure to be bulldozed. A five-story, 41-unit residential building with a first floor of storefronts would, according to current plans, take its place.

It could represent an economic opportunity for the Sussex County town. But blues fans are outraged that one of New Jersey's last authentic roadhouses — and an historic building to boot, dating back to 1794 — might be sacrificed to what they consider opportunistic developers and an acquisitive owner.

Why Stanhope House is on the block

"Stanhope without Stanhope House is a town without a heart," said R. Gregory Jones, an advocate for preservation.

But the issue, argued Mayor Eugene Wronko, is not what blues fans feel — or what borough residents feel, or even what he personally feels — about a local landmark that many view fondly.

It's whether owner Jon Klein has the legal right to do what he wants with his own property. That's what the council is voting about on Tuesday, he said.

"Say there was a wonderful neighbor, and he lived there for a long time and everybody loved him, and he was known for having wonderful Christmas decorations every year," Wronko said. "Then all of a sudden he wanted to modify his home, or sell it. We couldn't tell him not to, as long as he's operating within the parameters of the borough, no matter how we feel about it emotionally."

But is it, in fact, within the parameters of the borough's existing laws? Jones thinks not.

"Sure, a private owner can do what he wants within the law," he said. "But you can't just change the law for one lot and one owner, in this insanely dramatic way. That's what the town has been doing, going forward, with the development plan for this lot, by permitting an enormous five-story building that will tower over the village — which does not conform to the vision the town had for a village business district."

The venue has struggled in recent years

The Stanhope House has had its struggles. Declining audiences in recent years, exacerbated by COVID, have hurt the business's bottom line. And the site itself has issues: problems with the roof, the basement, the sewage, the parking.

But Jones would place those issues squarely in the lap of Klein, who bought the place more than a decade ago and has — so Jones and other preservationists say — let it go downhill. The upkeep of the building, Jones said, was on Klein.

"When you buy an old building like this, you have a duty to maintain it as a responsible steward of its history," said Jones, a Hunterdon County resident and host of of WNTI's streaming music show The Buzzer, out of Centenary University in Hackettstown.

"You're getting the asset of it being a legendary place," Jones said. "And for that asset, you have a responsibility to be a steward of the property."

Some musicians, too, complained in recent years that they were being underpaid, and audiences overcharged. "When he [Klein] came to Stanhope, it all went downhill," posted one noted blues guitarist, Bob Lanza of Hunterdon County, on a "Save Stanhope" Facebook page.

From the archives: Stanhope House to reopen; historic roadhouse to rock again

"They torpedoed a fantastic reputation by burning bridges with the local music community," Jones said. "They've priced themselves below what they would need to attract good acts, and basically they've become a place where you've been warned not to go for the music you play."

It should be noted that major acts, such as Rusted Root, Ghostface Killah and KRS-One, have still played the Stanhope House in recent years — though many have not been blues bands, another fan complaint. (Full disclosure: This writer has played the Stanhope House, but not under its present ownership.)

"We kept our blues profile in here over the years, but we've learned that we have to have something more eclectic to keep the club going," Klein said in a 2020 interview in Music Xplorer.

Pivotal vote set for Tuesday

Klein did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did the six Borough Council members due to decide on the redevelopment plan, all of whom were contacted. Several weeks ago, in a vote to introduce the ordinance, four council members voted yes, one voted no and one abstained. (The mayor, who could cast a tiebreaking vote, has recused himself; he has worked for the Stanhope House in the past, as has the one abstaining council member.)

That vote could be a bellwether for what happens Tuesday.

If the yeses carry the day, it will be a devastating blow to the music world, said Cristy Benvenutti, president of the North Jersey Blues Society, based in Ringwood.

"It's a legendary music venue that has housed numerous musicians and artists over the past 50 years," Benvenutti said. "And it's also been a part of the Stanhope community for the past 230 years."

Stanhope House history: ghosts, celebrities, blues legends

The three-story structure on Main Street has been, over the centuries, a stagecoach stop, a canal house, a post office, a brothel (allegedly) and a public meeting place.

Daniel Webster is said to have given a speech from the porch. Babe Ruth is said to have gambled there. It is said to have ghosts. Three of them, at least.

But what it has had, beyond question, are stars.

Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Paul Butterfield, Dr. John, Lonnie Mack, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Albert Collins, Jon Prine, Taj Mahal and Richie Havens are just some of the big names who have appeared on its stage since it was transformed, in 1970, into a blues venue. With its retro look, tin ceiling tiles and stained-glass windows, it has the kind of authentic atmosphere that faux-juke joints like House of Blues can't hope to reproduce.

Klein — himself a musician — has said as much in the past. Bluesman Guitar Shorty, he said in the 2020 interview, jokingly asked if he should take off his shoes before entering the Stanhope House. "Meaning that when you go to a great temple, out of respect, what do you do? You take off your shoes," Klein said. "So you know where I'm coming from, as far as how strong this place is, authentically, in blues music."

A developer in the picture

The Stanhope House has not, however, been declared a historic landmark, as of now. "An application has been submitted for historic status, to the state of New Jersey," Benvenutti said.

But neither, Jones noted, has it been condemned — even with the problems that people cite as reasons for its non-viability.

"The argument is that it's decrepit, it can't be fixed," Jones said. "But if it was truly decrepit, it would be condemned. No one is going on record as saying they need to condemn the place." Any 230-year-old building, he said, would have foreseeable wear and tear.

The building was evaluated within the last year by the borough's land use board. "They determined that based on its condition, it meets the state's criteria for redevelopment," said Wronko, the mayor.

The real story here, Jones said, is that Klein's BGK Realty Group purchased the place for $535,000 — a song — in 2011, in the wake of a legal battle by previous owners, was unable to make it pay, then tried to sell it at a price too high for the market: $1.7 million. When there were no takers, he partnered with a developer instead.

There is a developer in the picture, Wronko confirmed. Being recused, he doesn't know who it is, he said. It appears to be De Mattheis Real Estate in Verona, said Jones, who cited documents obtained through a state Open Public Records Act request. De Mattheis could not be reached for comment.

Bottom line: The Borough Council doesn't have a dog in this fight, the mayor insists.

"As a governing body, we have to be objective," Wronko said. No one in the government, he said, has been pushing for the redevelopment project. Many have strong feelings of affection for the Stanhope House.

"But we all live here, and if there's an opportunity that makes sense we're going to listen to it," he said. "Because the more ratables we bring in, it lessens the burden on homeowners."

Competing visions

The town, Jones argued, may not be so disinterested. It has eased the way for redevelopment, by stretching the definition of "village business district," which is what the current zoning calls for, to accommodate apartments, he said. The first-floor shops, he argues, are just window-dressing. "It's a loincloth," he said.

Wronko said the development plan is entirely with the parameters of what the zone calls for. "No one is trying to skirt anything, or grease the wheels," he said.

Clearly, the redevelopment plan is not good news for the Stanhope House. Is it good news for Stanhope?

No, Jones would argue. Apartments are not promising ratables, he said. As a matter of fact, they're liable to cost the town money. Apartments mean kids, which means schools, which means teachers, staff, infrastructure. "Every schoolkid that comes out of a building costs Stanhope borough $24,000," he said.

What would be a great ratable for the town, he said, is the Stanhope House itself. If it was run right.

"If you're trying to build a historic village, one that's filled with antiques stores, a village business district, what would be better than a historic tavern where people can come, maybe at lunch, and then at 10 o'clock for a blues band?" he said. "It's like a dream shot for a village business district."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Demolish Stanhope House? Town will vote on famed blues club's fate