Legendary Seattle Venue Closes Doors

Seattle's renowned music venue the Crocodile Café has suddenly closed its doors after 17 years.

The intimate downtown club, which played a big role in the early 1990s grunge scene and has hosted shows from the likes of Beck, REM, Yoko Ono and Sleater-Kinney, was reportedly facing financial troubles that forced the owner to close its doors. It most notably hosted a gig in 1992 featuring Nirvana and Mudhoney for a $3 ticket price.

According to the Seattle Post-Intellligencer, owner Stephanie Dorgan unexpectedly told club employees this past weekend that there was no need for them to return to work because she was shutting the club down.

"We all knew the club has problems with money, but we certainly didn't think it would be closing right now," said club booker Eli Anderson. "I was booking new shows on Saturday, so I was freaking out when I received Stephanie's voice mail."

PJ played a secret show there late in 1998, after the end of their Yield tour, in a short opening set packed with rarities.