Ann Arbor’s Firefly Club, a beacon for live jazz for nearly a decade and regarded by aficionados as metro Detroit’s finest all-around jazz club, has been closed and its property seized by the Michigan Department of Treasury due to a delinquent sales tax bill.
Club owner Susan Chastain said the dispute boils down to overdue sales tax payments totaling just $1,000 for the months of June and July, though the club ultimately still owes the state $120,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest charges.
Treasury officials, accompanied by police, padlocked the doors to the South Main Street club at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, and the fate of the club remains unclear. Chastain wants to stay open but said that officials told her that if she doesn’t pay the entire $120,000 bill within 10 days, the club will be shuttered permanently and the assets, including a $36,000 Yamaha grand piano, will be auctioned off.
“I don’t have the money to pay,” said Chastain, a singer who sometimes performs at the club. “The state can sell everything I have.”
She said she hoped to be able to work out a deal with state officials to keep the club open. Treasury spokesman Caleb Buhs said that he was prevented by law from discussing the specifics of the case. However, once the department seizes a business' property, payment plans are no longer accepted, he said.
Club owner Susan Chastain said the dispute boils down to overdue sales tax payments totaling just $1,000 for the months of June and July, though the club ultimately still owes the state $120,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest charges.
Treasury officials, accompanied by police, padlocked the doors to the South Main Street club at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, and the fate of the club remains unclear. Chastain wants to stay open but said that officials told her that if she doesn’t pay the entire $120,000 bill within 10 days, the club will be shuttered permanently and the assets, including a $36,000 Yamaha grand piano, will be auctioned off.
“I don’t have the money to pay,” said Chastain, a singer who sometimes performs at the club. “The state can sell everything I have.”
She said she hoped to be able to work out a deal with state officials to keep the club open. Treasury spokesman Caleb Buhs said that he was prevented by law from discussing the specifics of the case. However, once the department seizes a business' property, payment plans are no longer accepted, he said.
