Last week Bay View residents were surprised by widespread reports that the beloved tavern and music venue Frank’s Power Plant was closing. And then, mere hours later, they were surprised yet again by the clarification that the bar was not in fact closing.
The confusion apparently stemmed from a miscommunication between bar owner Frank Wickert and former bar manager Rebecca Cottreau, who says she’d been led to believe the bar was being sold. As Wickert tells it, “My manager up and quit on me under the assumption that the bar has been sold and everyone was going to be fired. That was far from the truth. The bar has been for sale for a long time. I have several interested clients looking at the bar, but the fact is it hasn’t been sold.”
There’s still some daylight between their two accounts. Cottreau has disputed Wickert’s claim that she quit and fired the bar’s entire staff, saying that they left in solidarity over concerns about the bar’s future. Wickert, meanwhile, insists that his former employees are welcome to return. “I feel sorry for all of my employees,” he says. “I gave the message to all my clients at the bar that they’re all welcome to come back.”
In the meantime, Wickert has hired temporary bar staff to keep the bar running, though he says he has no interest in managing the bar long term. “I didn’t buy the bar to manage the bar,” he says. “I bought it as an investment in the community. I’m working on selling it to the next buyer who can carry on that tradition.” Wickert says his primary job requires travel, and that he plans to move overseas to join his family as soon as he liquidates some assets.
Wickert says he will make an announcement about the Power Plant’s future tomorrow at noon at the bar, though whether that announcement pertains to the possible sale of the property is unclear. What is clear is that he’s an active seller. Wickert says he has talked to potential buyers who were interested in leveling the property and building something else, but his hope is to sell to a buyer who will keep the bar running.
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“I want it to continue serving Bay View the way it has for the last 20 years,” he says. “That’s what I’m working for.”
