Chicago bar and music venue The Hideout will head into a hiatus following concerns of a toxic work environment that were voiced by a former employee.
The Bucktown venue will close Nov. 7 and plan to reopen in 2023 with "new leadership and a commitment to a healthy, supportive and respectful organizational culture," according to a statement released Monday from owners Tim and Katie Tuten and Mike and Jim Hinchsliff.
The closure comes after Mykele Deville, a former program director at The Hideout, shared on Instagram that he experienced "trauma and pain" while working there.
“I realized that Hideout never had any intention to set me up to succeed, but only wanted to trade on my racial identity, and the trust and respect I’d built within the arts communities of Chicago,” Deville said in the Oct. 19 post.
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The Hideout's owners posted a response on Facebook on Oct. 20, stating that they were taking the "complaints very seriously."
The venue experienced a number of cancellations for upcoming performances in response to Deville's post. In their latest statement, the owners said they decided to take a break to navigate the situation.
"We acknowledge the deep pain Mykele and others are feeling," the statement read. "We have met with our staff, and we are ready to put in the hard work, and hear the difficult truths that such change requires. We are committed to taking action as we work with a human resources organization with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
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"We won’t devalue this process by pretending it can be done perfectly, simply or quickly. We understand it will take time to build trust, to foster open communication, to develop a meaningful plan for change and then to implement it. With patience and guidance from the community, we hope to get there."
All shows scheduled during the hiatus will be cancelled.
