Just When You Thought 2016 Couldn't Get Worse - Jimmy Mak's Announces Closing

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. They had new building. They had a lease. Renovation had started. Jimmy Mak's, Portland's legendary jazz club, was scheduled to open in a brand new spot early next year.

Unfortunately, cancer rarely respects the plans of people.

"I am currently undergoing immunotherapy treatments for cancer of the larynx, which has intensified in the past five weeks," owner Jimmy Makarounis announced on the club's Facebook page.

"My doctors insist that I step away from Jimmy Mak’s business to focus solely on healing.

"It is with a heavy heart I write this today. On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2016, Jimmy Mak’s will host its final show and close its doors."

Makarounis added "indefinitely," holding out hope that he will beat this thing and one day be reopen.

There is also another possibility.

"At present, there is still an opportunity for another owner/operator to step in to fund and finish the buildout of the new location and carry on the Jimmy Mak’s brand," he wrote. "We welcome any offers to do so."

As of now, the last show will be New Year's Eve. Soul Vaccination will perform.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Jimmy Mak's may not be the only place to hear jazz in Portland but it certainly the best known.

"One of the world's top 100 places to hear jazz," Down Beat Magazine said of them a couple of years ago. That's in the world. One of the best places - ANYWHERE - to hear jazz.

And here in Portland.

In February, Jimmy announced that the building where the club was located had been sold - it's going to be a 17-story condo tower - but not to worry because they had a new location pretty much around the corner.

"We'll be able to relocate the business very close to our existing space, with plenty of time and flexibility to make it happen," he wrote.

"We are excited to be able to create a venue for food and entertainment that will be bigger and better than our current space."

Creating a venue for all has always been one of Jimmy's goals in his 20 years of owning the club.

"Jimmy Mak’s has been a family home to world-class musicians of many different genres, particularly the city’s best jazz players," he wrote on Monday. "The club also presents many of the world’s top jazz and blues players and has become a significant West Coast stop on many of these artists’ tours.

"It is Portland’s longest-running jazz club and one of the oldest single-owner nightclubs of any genre in town."

And, so now the waiting begins. To see if Jimmy Mak's finds a new owner. More importantly, to wait and hope that Jimmy himself catches a break.

Twenty years of giving jazz and smiles to the people of Portland - he deserves no less.

Photo Jimmy Mak's