Changes are coming to one of downtown New Bedford’s staple establishments.

The Vault Music Hall & Pub, located at 791 Purchase Street, has permanently closed the music hall portion of the business, effective immediately, and has closed the pub side as well for a period of time before it will re-open with a new concept.

News of the closing broke early Sunday morning, with The Vault confirming the news on its official Facebook page just before 10 a.m.

“The Vault Music Hall will be closing down effective immediately. We’re working with the agents for all of the bands that were scheduled over the next several months to see if we can get the shows moved to other venues within the region, so keep an eye out for announcements regarding that. All tickets for future shows will be refunded over the next few days.”

“The Pub side will be closing down as well, with tentative plans to reopen under a new concept. Further details will be released as that progresses along with time frames on when we plan to reopen.”

“We want to thank everybody who has supported us as a live music venue featuring some of the best entertainment that has ever been brought to this city. It’s been a fun ride!”

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City Council President Ian Abreu was one of the first to react to the news of The Vault closing the music hall.

“It’s always a sad day whenever we learn about a small business in our city closing its doors,” Abreu said. “I’ve always felt that the entire team at The Vault Music Hall & Pub did an admirable job in providing some top-notch local and live entertainment. After speaking with the ownership group when I learned of this news, I am pleased to hear, however, that there are plans for a re-branding and re-launch, for which I am eagerly waiting and very excited about.”

The Vault began life as Greasy Luck Brewery, opening in December of 2016. It began as a partnership between Christian Farland, owner of the civil engineering and land surveying firm Farland Corp., as well as local restaurateurs Al Peters of Rose Alley Ale House and Cork, and Mark Martinho of Antonio’s. The name “Greasy Luck” was chosen because it was an oft-spoken phrase during New Bedford’s whaling days, when whalers headed out to sea would be wished “greasy luck,” meaning they’d come back with an abundance of whale oil.

The music hall space took advantage of the fact that it was housed in the former New Bedford Five Cents Saving Bank, utilizing its vault as part of the branding and appearance of the room.

In August 2017, Farland sold his portion of Greasy Luck to Howie Mallowes, who owns and operates a number of successful establishments downtown. Farland cited a need to put his focus on his main business and told WBSM News at the time, “My goal with Greasy Luck Brewery was to bring New Bedford a world class venue in which I believe I did. It deserves an owner that can give it a 100 percent effort and I believe the partner taking my shares Howie Mallowes can do so."

Mallowes ushered in the next generation of the location, changing its name to Greasy Luck Brewpub to put more of an emphasis on the food. Eventually the in-house brewing ended, and Mallowes led a rebrand of the establishment as The Vault Music Hall & Pub in May 2021, telling Fun 107’s Michael Rock that “it was time” for a new name.

“Too many people didn't understand what Greasy Luck meant,” Mallowes said. “They weren't sure if it was a reference to the food. It just led to confusion.”

The Vault had scheduled a number of rock and metal acts in the coming months such as Enuff ZNuff, Autograph, Head PE, Crazy Town, Steven Adler of Guns N Roses, U2 tribute act Joshua Tree, and Fozzy.

The closing of the music hall portion of The Vault is the latest change in that area of Purchase Street. Last year, Cojo’s Toy World opened up, and recently, the Pour Farm was sold to new owners.

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