Goodbye to Lost Leaf. For real this time. What happened and what's next for the Phoenix bar

The Lost Leaf has been sold again. And this time, there are no plans to reopen as the Lost Leaf.

The 1920s bungalow just south of Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix has been closed since early June.

At that time, David Cameron, the real estate investor who purchased the art bar and live music venue in March 2022 told The Arizona Republic he planned to be open in time for this July's First Friday art walk, saying the bar would be "closed for a few weeks for maintenance and business restructuring."

That plan didn't last.

Cameron listed the Lost Leaf for sale at ArizonaRestaurantSales.com on Friday, June 30. He told The Republic he was looking for legitimate offers but hope the buyer wouldn't change the bar.

Why? "Because I love this place," he said.

Three months later, on Sept. 29, the bar was sold to Chase Brendle with Lacuna Kava Bar, which has locations in Phoenix and Sedona.

Cameron said Brendle plans to open a coffee bar in the space.

The Republic has reached out to Brendle for comment and will update with more on his plans.

'The end of an era': How an art bar that holds 50 people came to mean so much to Phoenix

How the Lost Leaf became a cherished part of downtown Phoenix culture

The Lost Leaf opened in 2006 under former owners Eric Dahl and Tato Caraveo when they moved their gallery into the bungalow from its original home above Emerald Lounge on Seventh Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix.

From the time it opened, the goal was to treat the musicians who played and the artists whose work was displayed on the walls with respect. That meant not taking a commission on the art and making sure that every band got paid.

By the time Dahl sold the Lost Leaf, it was a beloved haven for the city's art and music scenes, holding its own against gentrification as one of the longest-running independent music spaces in downtown Phoenix.

When Cameron reopened the Lost Leaf, he told The Republic the goal was to make the business more successful than it had been.

"I've spent an exorbitant amount of my time and energy and financial resources to try to keep this afloat, " Cameron told The Republic in June.

"This business doesn't make a lot of money, or wasn't in the way that I was running it. But then again, maybe I wasn't the best suited to run this. I'm OK with that. I'm OK with me being the guy that stopped it from closing and kept it alive. Because this is an iconic music venue."

Why David Cameron decided to sell the Lost Leaf

The decision to sell was based on several factors, some of which Cameron says are personal.

One major factor, though, was that the Lost Leaf hadn't done the sort of business he expected it to do. Toward the end, he was programming several shows a day to try to boost foot traffic.

Another factor was that he wasn't able to achieve the original goal he had when he purchased the business, which was to expand the Lost Leaf into a neighboring property.

Had he been able to proceed as planned, he says, he would've stuck it out.

After all that, Cameron says, "I just don't have any more steam inside of me."

When the bar abruptly in June, it left employees out of work.

The Lost Leaf is one of two iconic music venues Cameron purchased and reopened in the Valley. The other is Char's Has the Blues, the legendary Melrose District blues and R&B club he reopened as Char's Live in February 2022.

Char's Live recently reopened after being temporarily closed for construction.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lost Leaf, an iconic Phoenix bar and arts hub, is permanently closed