By Dana Gerber Globe Staff,Updated December 15, 2024, 4:46 p.m.
Whitneys, a stalwart Harvard Square dive bar emblematic of the once-gritty neighborhood, said Friday it is closing at the end of the year after a months-long dispute with its landlord.
The stomping ground, which has been a Cambridge mainstay since 1953, has been battling its landlord to stay in its JFK Street location, said owner Dan McGuire, who took over the spot six years ago.
Since the pandemic, McGuire said, the owners have been “trying to kick me out of here for some reason or another.” He said he withheld back rent in an escrow account for a period of time due to a dispute with the landlord, Mayhaw LLC, over a power upgrade for the bar. Most recently, he said, the landlord’s grievance was about daytime noise issues.
Finally, over the summer, Mayhaw brought eviction proceedings. In October, the parties agreed in Cambridge District Court that if Whitneys closed up shop by Jan. 1 of next year, vacated by Jan. 15, and didn’t play music during the daytime or allow live music or bands at the bar, that Mayhaw would waive the $44,800 in owed back rent.
But McGuire, a native of Central Square, said he isn’t going down without a fight.
“I watched this square go through so many changes,” said McGuire. “My big thing now is, even if I don’t survive here — which, I’m going to do everything I can to survive . . . the people that come to Whitneys now, they’re never going to come to the square again.”
In response to a request for comment, the attorney for Mayhaw LLC, Lori A. Drayton, said the closing is a result of the bar’s “failure to pay any rent since October 2023, not due to any noise issues.”
“The landlord made extensive efforts during the pandemic and after to preserve Whitney’s tenancy. Unfortunately, Whitneys’ continued failure to pay any rent resulted in an amicable settlement agreement to cease operations at year end,” the attorney said. “We wish Dan well in his future endeavors.”
McGuire, who said he will speak about the closing in front of the Cambridge City Council on Monday, hopes that going public now will fuel a public outcry that will force the landlord to “wake up” and preserve the bar, which employs eight people.
“I’m not looking for a handout. I’m not looking to be the rebel. I’m looking to hold on to a piece of history in this square that is constantly being taken away,” he said.
“I’m going to fight to the last hour,” he added.
Nestled between a Ben & Jerry’s and a Warby Parker, Whitneys is indeed among the last vestiges of a bohemian commercial hub that has lost such mainstays as Café Pamplona, hardware store Dickson Bros. True Value, and newsstand Out of Town News in recent years.
Whitneys’ last day will be Dec. 31. Any last patrons can check out the Polaroid photos that line the back wall — bartenders take drinkers’ pictures if it’s not too busy — scrawled with messages from years of rowdy college students and sports fans.