Be Here Now future uncertain, owners put building up for sale

The trust that owns Be Here Now’s building has put the building up for sale, leaving the future of the Village's only music venue in the air.

Chris Karamesines, trustee of Karamesines Credit Shelter Trust, said the building has been up for sale for about three to six months. If the building were to be sold, the new owner could force Be Here Now out of the building.

“[The owner of Be Here Now] has a lease that has the option of me canceling at any time I want… more or less a month-to-month type lease,” Karamesines said. “Somebody could buy it and choose to keep renting it to the owner of Be Here Now, or they could say, hey I’ve got another use for it.”

Whitney Lewis, owner of Be Here Now, declined to comment.

Karamesines said his selling the business doesn’t have anything to do with Be Here Now, but that the trust is trying to get rid of some of its real estate.

Matt Mellen, lead singer for the band The Indigos, said if Be Here Now closed the local music scene would suffer due to the lack of venues for both live music and drinking in Muncie. Mellen is a senior business and leadership communication major.

“Late Nite and [University Program Board] have live music but it’s more affiliated with the Late Nite and on-campus stuff that they have,” Mellen said. “Be Here Now is also a bar, so the whole demographic that UPB and Late Nite is bringing in is completely different than the bar scene… [there’s] an entire demographic of people who want to drink and watch live music.”

Keyboardist and vocalist for The Indigos Josh Savage, a senior marketing major, said Be Here Now has helped his band become successful through its environment. The bar provides the “perfect combo” for people to enjoy while listening to music, said Savage.

“I think [Be Here Now] has provided an environment that our fanbase has become very comfortable in, and not only in the fact that they can drink and fun there, but in the fact that they can express themselves in a way that they one, feel free to express themselves, and second they see their friends there,” Savage said. “You can dance, you can listen to music, you can get drunk… that sounds like the college triumvirate right there.”

For some, the music that Be Here Now offers is a bridge to the Muncie community.

But Brian Burk, an owner of Greek’s Pizzeria, which shares the block with Be Here Now, said he didn’t see his business being affected very much if Be Here Now closed.

“It might affect our late night booth a little bit, just because of the draw down here, but I think also with Brothers [across the street] I don’t think it would have too much to do for us,” Burk said. “At the end of the day it wouldn’t really affect our business.”

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