Sheriff's deputies, on behalf of UC San Diego, served the operators of the Ché Café with an eviction notice this week — marking the latest and most serious threat to the underground music venue and vegetarian restaurant on the edge of campus.
The Ché Café Collective, a co-op of students and music lovers who run the cafe, has to vacate the building by 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Attorney Bryan Pease, who is representing the collective in the latest legal battle with the university, said they've filed an appeal but it won't be heard before Tuesday.
For years, Ché's existence has been fragile. Last year, two student associations, in separate votes made it nearly impossible for the co-op to stay in the current venue, a historic wooden structure covered with murals and band stickers. A legal battle ensued, which ended in an October ruling in favor of UC San Diego. The ruling ultimately paved the way for the eviction notice.
University administrators have offered the co-op other venues where they can stage the punk and hardcore music shows for which the Ché is best known. Pease said the venue is legendary in the local music scene.
"I mean they’ve had bands like Nirvana, Green Day and Rage Against the Machine play there," Pease said. "They’ve been around for 35 years so a lot of these well known bands have played shows there."
In July 2014, music lover Charles Henry Peckham told KPBS the music scene at the Ché is rare.
“There’s not anything like the Ché that I have ever seen and I’ve been going to shows for a long time," Peckham said.
According to the group's Facebook page, members of the collective are meeting Friday evening to organize another effort to save Ché.
