Deptford grassroots music venue The Piehouse, which was forced to close last November, is set to reopen in 2025 after a successful year of community campaigning.
In November 2023, Deptford received the news that the community venue, Matchstick Piehouse, was being forced to close its doors. Despite a largely successful fundraising campaign that raised £30,000 in donations, the venue was unable to pay off the covid rent arrears and were forced to shut down the space, leaving another culture hole within the South East London community. With two grassroots venues closing a week in London, Matchstick Piehouse was another name on a long list of indie spaces put to rest.
However, a group of ex-Matchstick staff, resident artists, and staff from other local grassroots venues have formed a new workers co-op under the name Piehouse Co-op and after a year of negotiation, with help from the Music Venues Trust, have agreed the heads of terms and look set to reopen the venue early 2025.
The 150-capacity venue is one of a handful in London that also offers access for wheelchair accessible users, and access to arts and culture is the thread that hangs together the ideology of Friends of the Piehouse. The workers co-op is committed to making sure the venue represents the diverse community that surrounds it, and aim to prioritise artist development for marginalised groups and hard to reach audiences.
The Piehouse is currently fundraising as the entire venue is unfurnished. The original venue was stripped of all its assets and is in new need of lights, sound, and furniture. A set cost of £15,000 must be raised by February 2025 to secure its grand opening.
The following is a breakdown of what the money is expected to be spent on:
£5K approx to cover worker co-op staff time between Dec-Jan on planning and pre-trading work
£2.5K on professional consultancy to support co-operative development and business planning
£2.5K on venue equipment
£5K on rent (this will cover the initial rent due on the property to give a security buffer in the first few months of trading to ensure healthy cashflow
Stretch target - £5K contingency fund. This would cover additional costs such as insurance, accountancy fees, ongoing business support, utilities, and other costs that might arise
To support, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-piehouse-returns-help-us-open-the-doors#start