Former employees, student patrons, and local musicians are picking up the pieces after The Mansion announced on March 11 via Instagram their closure after 17 years of business.
The post currently has 167 comments, nearly all sympathetic toward the loss of this icon in the Kingston bar scene. After one final night of partying on March 11, the space closed indefinitely. Though some students mourn The Mansion’s closure, others are struggling to re-book events and find new employment after the sudden announcement.
The towering house at 506 Princess St. has a rich history, turning from residence to antique shop to bar on New Year’s Eve ’94. The space then operated as “Aykroyd’s Ghetto House Café,” co-owned by the Saturday Night Live (SNL) star and Kingston local Dan Aykroyd. After a series of other bars and restaurants inhabited the space, current owners opened “The Mansion” in 2009, as it’s remained since.
Any student knows the feeling of arriving at The Mansion: the hum of Princess Street traffic fades as you step onto the patio, where mismatched tables scrape softly against the ground and the air carries a mix of cigarette smoke, perfume, and spilled beer. You push through the heavy front doors, and the shift is immediate: dim amber light pools over worn floors, bass pulses faintly from somewhere above, and the sweet, sharp scent of alcohol lingers thick in the air, almost pulling you toward the bar.
If you’re there for an event, you make your way up the staircase, each step creaking under the weight of bodies moving in both directions. The music grows louder with every step until it vibrates through your chest, and when you reach the second floor, the space feels alive—heat rising, voices shouting over one another, laughter cutting through the noise. You edge your way forward, shoulders brushing strangers, navigating the packed dance floor where bodies sway in tight clusters, or slipping past the line of people waiting for karaoke, their anticipation buzzing just as loudly as the music.
What feels at first like pure chaos is, in fact, part of what has made The Mansion such a defining and unique fixture in Kingston’s live music scene, via multi-level performance spaces “The Basement” and “The Living Room,” The Mansion garnered a reputation as a top Kingston venue for local and student bands, as well as touring musicians. Queen’s students took advantage of The Mansion’s proximity to the student neighbourhood to host club events and live shows.
READ MORE: Student bands steal the show at The Mansion’s Halloween party
“There truly is no other place like The Mansion,” wrote student band Last Call’s lead singer Skylar Flann, ArtSci ’27, in a statement to The Journal. She noted the venue’s versatility and range of musical genres represented through its performers. “I would consider it to have been the heartbeat of student bands and events, generally, in Kingston,” she wrote. She expressed her concern as to where future events might be held for both clubs and student musicians.
Flann shared her favourite memory performing with Last Call was QMC’s Battle of the Bands event in 2024. “It was our first performance as a band, and had it not been for the win that night, we might’ve never gotten the opportunities we’ve had since,” she wrote.
Lead singer Devin O’Grady, ConEd ’26, of student band Doghouse echoed these sentiments. “The Mansion had a really special place in the student music scene,” he wrote in a statement to The Journal. “I feel like every band ended up playing there at least once.”
But The Mansion’s closing involves more than misty-eyed nostalgia, especially for employees freshly out of work. Pippa Bryan, ArtSci ’26, began working as a server and bartender at The Mansion last March, and was let go along with the rest of staff on March 11.
“I actually found out I was officially done work when they [The Mansion] posted on Instagram,” Bryan said in an interview with The Journal.
Shortly beforehand, Bryan says she and other staff members were notified in a group message that The Mansion’s building was up for lease, and they’d be notified of further changes. When The Mansion announced closure on March 11, Bryan said she was still formally scheduled to work March 13 based on the schedule released earlier that week.
Bryan described her relationship with The Mansion as “love-hate.” She said though it was probably a great place to visit, and she enjoyed the live music events, working there was “frustrating” at times.
Though Bryan had been considering finding a new job for the summer prior to closure, she hadn’t secured another job at the time of The Mansion’s closing. “It was frustrating when I initially saw the post on Instagram, because I didn’t know it was coming that soon,” she said.
Another employee, Ella Maher, ArtSci ’27, shared similar sentiments. She began working at The Mansion as a bartender in September 2024 until its closure last week. March 11 was a chaotic day for staff; Maher estimated about 30 minutes before The Mansion’s Instagram post, one of her managers sent a message to employees explaining the closure.
Angelina Liu, ArtSci ’27, who has worked at The Mansion from August 2024 to December 2024, remembers pleasant time as an employee but was surprised and sad when it closed, well, only slightly surprised. She explained in an interview with The Journal she did have a slight idea of a potential closure, saying she knew The Mansion was renting their top floor and figured it was due to finances.
The reasons for The Mansion’s closure weren’t disclosed in their Instagram post, and Maher says from communication with staff, reasons for closure and the venue’s future are somewhat unknown.
“The landlord didn’t want to continue having them on the lease, and he’s planning on taking over the business himself, maybe fixing it up to sell or just running it on his own,” Maher said in an interview with The Journal, something she alleges is based on communication staff received from owners Dave Owens and Casey Fisher.
When she found out The Mansion was closing for good, Maher said she felt prepared. “I wasn’t absolutely shocked, because he [Dave] had said it before,” she said. Maher shared she was more surprised at the sudden change in employment status. “I’ve talked to my coworkers, and they’re all kind of scrambling to figure out what to do,” she said.
The Mansion didn’t respond to The Journal’s multiple requests to comment.
Student groups with established bookings at The Mansion prior to closure were forced to find new event spaces following the Instagram announcement. Sketch comedy group Queen’s Players were forced to relocate to the Ale House Canteen within a week of their winter show’s opening night on March 18.
“Queen’s Players was initially notified by the Official Mansion Instagram post alongside the general public,” wrote Finance Director Monique Kelly, Sci ’27, and President Megan Schierau, ArtSci ’26, in a statement to The Journal. “Shortly after the announcement we were in contact with Dave, as he kept us posted for the potential of keeping the winter show at Mansion, which was ultimately a No,” they wrote.
“The Mansion was a special place for Queen’s Players and was the main venue for numerous years,” they wrote. “The state of the show and how the club functioned was built on the layout of the mansion, and the setup was comfortable and repeatable for every show.”
Despite scheduling challenges, the group ended their time at The Mansion on a positive note. “We are so grateful for the wonderful times we’ve had,” Kelly and Schierau wrote. “You may take Queen’s Players out of the Mansion, but you will never take the Mansion out of Queen’s players.”
On the last night of operations, the venue drew a crowd. At karaoke night on March 11, the place was “packed,” said Connor Zakary, CompSci ’27, in an interview with The Journal.
“They were selling out,” Zakary said, noting most kegs had been tapped by the time he left around 1 a.m. The Mansion hosted karaoke that evening, and the queue reached a 3-hour wait at one point.
“I saw a guy spend $20 to get the fifth spot in line,” Zakary said.
Zakary recalls speaking with Owens on the night of March 11 about shared memories, such as when the former Mansion owner watched the AL Division Series Major League Baseball (MLB) face-off between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees in October 2025. Owens gave Zakary and his friends free shots each time the Blue Jays scored.
On March 11, faithful patrons made The Mansion’s last night a memorable one. “When I was there in the afternoon watching baseball, it was a traditional funeral,” Zakary said.
“In the evening, it was more celebration of life. It was all people who love The Mansion and were excited to be there one last time,” he said.While what will replace The Mansion is still unknown, its absence will be noticeable—leaving behind a space that, for many Queen’s and Kingston community members, was a go-to spot for live music, karaoke nights, and a chance to unwind off campus.
—With files from Jonathan Reilly
Tags
closing, Kingston Music, Music, The Mansion
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