After The Golden Pony bar and restaurant in downtown Harrisonburg announced it will close next month, veterans of the local music scene said the closure is a symptom of broader issues, such as the worsening economy and strict state regulations.

Blake Cramer, guitarist and singer for local bands Trout Mouth and Mothman Rodeo, said The Golden Pony would leave a void in the local music scene.

“I’m definitely sad to see the Pony go,” Cramer said. “They brought a lot of variety, all different genres of music, and I don’t think that’s going to be quickly replaced.”

The Golden Pony announced on social media on Monday that it would close its doors for the last time next month. The venue has been open for 11 years on North Main Street in downtown Harrisonburg, hosting a wide variety of musical acts and other events.

The Pony is the latest in a series of independent music venues to close in Harrisonburg in recent years. Earlier this year, the Warehouse, a DIY-style venue, closed. In 2024, Crayola House, a popular venue located in a house not far from downtown Harrisonburg, closed.

Paul Somers, owner of The Golden Pony, said he didn’t come to this decision lightly. He said he’d been considering the decision for over a year and said the economy was a major consideration.

“People’s habits are changing when it comes to going to shows,” Somers said. “Like with restaurants, everything is about volume, and if you don’t have the volume, it’s easy to get mixed up. With the margins being thin as they are, you have a couple of lean months, and suddenly your whole operation is in peril.”

In addition to worsening economic conditions, especially since the start of the war in Iran, Virginia regulations regarding the sale of alcohol can make it even harder for local restaurants to survive.

Cramer, who used to work at The Golden Pony, said Virginia ABC requires businesses like bars to sell a certain amount of food to sell alcohol.

“Restaurants and venues operate on such a slim margin,” Cramer said. “You lose money pretty quickly when you can’t sell alcohol, and a lot of people like to drink when they go to a show.”

Somers said the idea behind a regulation like this is that restaurant guests will buy an expensive meal and one or two drinks. At the same time, they won’t get as intoxicated because they won’t be drinking on an empty stomach.

For venues like the Golden Pony, however, the reality can be different, Somers said.

“I have to balance out my liquor sales with food sales, but I sell the two things at completely different times,” Somers said. “We sell our food at brunch on the weekend, or at dinnertime during the week.”

By comparison, venues like the Pony sell most of their alcohol later at night during shows, Somers said.

Bill Howard, a guitarist and singer with The Judy Chops, said that, in Virginia, bars are required to serve food. And across the country, small, independent venues rely on alcohol sales to survive.

“Unfortunately, in Virginia, the reality is that you pretty much have to run a restaurant if you want to run a bar, and if you want to run a venue, you have to run a bar,” Howard said. “It’s a vicious cycle.”

As venues struggle with the cost of doing business, musicians are feeling the same pain. Cramer, who often tours the East Coast to perform, said it’s getting harder and harder to justify the cost of some of his trips.

“I can barely afford to drive to work nowadays,” Cramer said. “When am I going to say, well, let me book a summer tour and go up and down the East Coast as an independent musician when there’s no guarantees, just hoping the tip jar stays heavy?”

Gordon Davies, an audio engineer who has worked with venues across Harrisonburg for years, said the arts are often hit hard when the economy declines because people see them as a luxury.

“It’s a very rough economy right now,” Davies said. “In a rough economy, the first thing that goes is entertainment. It’s not essential, and people have to save money for things they absolutely need, like rent and food. When you can’t afford those things, you’re not going to spend money to go out and see live music.”

Howard, who used to work as a booking agent for smaller venues and artists, said shows are getting canceled across the country as seats remain unfilled.

“I think people are trying to take less risks in the booking side of things,” Howard said. “You see it happening more and more where shows that are ticketed will go right up to a week or so out, and then shows are getting canceled because presales aren’t happening. Unfortunately, if there’s not a guarantee that the show is going to drive enough food sales or alcohol sales at the show, you can’t really justify throwing the show.”

Despite the struggles facing The Golden Pony and similar venues, Cramer said the local music scene has been in this position before.

“You can try and kill it, but you’re not going to completely stop it,” Cramer said. “You just might have a couple extra days between shows.”