Sold! Schubas and Lincoln Hall Have New Owners, Same Vision

By Margaret Paulson in News on Apr 24, 2015 4:15PM

Storied Lakeview music venue Schubas and its newer sister club, Lincoln Hall, have new owners as of this week. Chris and Mike Schuba, the brothers who opened their namesake club in 1988 and Lincoln Hall in 2009, sold the venues to Audioleaf, a company formed by Chicago music company Audiotree and Michigan-based Greenleaf Companies.

According to the Tribune’s Greg Kot, the move came after Chris Schuba, 63, decided to leave the music business to pursue other opportunities after a 26-year run—one of them being a role in the advertising department at the Chicago Tribune. Younger brother Mike Schuba, 58, will stay on as COO of both venues after the sale. Chris Schuba assured Kot that the brothers considered it “essential” when brokering the deal that the new owners retained the 70 current staff members.

Schubas is pretty much hallowed stomping ground, a revered spot that has hosted the likes of The National, Flosstradamus, Janelle Monáe, of Montreal, My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend, Macklemore and others in the early days of their paths to fame. But all signs seem to show that Schubas—named as one of the top 5 “most rocking small rooms in the country” by Rolling Stone in 2013—and Lincoln Hall are in good hands. Audiotree is an “artist-centric music company" that’s well-known for Audiotree Live, an in-studio concert series with an intimate feel.

Read more about Schubas 17-year history in this March 2014 piece by Consequence of Sound.