Imbibe to leave TheMuseum location, won't reopen anytime soon

Imbibe Food 'n Drink, the restaurant and craft beer hot spot located on the first floor of TheMuseumin Kitchener, will be leaving the space by the end of June and won't bereopening anytime soon.

In a release issued late Tuesday, CEO David Marskellsaid, "We were notified today that Imbibe has chosen not to renew its lease beyond June 2015."

"As a not-for-profit,TheMuseummust consistently review its bottom line and ensure all areas forrevenue are explored," the news release fromTheMuseumsaid.

"The store-front space is an ideal location for businesses during the revitalizationof downtown Kitchener, and could support rental income at market rates while providing a key revenuesource forTheMuseumsprograms."

Imbibe owner BillMacTavishalso operates The Boathouse in Kitchener's Victoria Park. MacTavish posted a statement about the closure on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to come to agreeable terms for the lease. The increase in rent was not insignificant and simply could not be absorbed into our business model," MacTavish wrote.

"Imbibe would not have been possible without continued help from TheMuseum, and for that, my family and I will be forever grateful. TheMuseumis an important cultural venue in Downtown Kitchener and I understand their need to increase revenues in order to keep their business model running properly."

'Hopefully, in time, we'll do it again'

MacTavish added that Imbibe will be shutting down before June, and that for the "immediate future" he will focus efforts on The Boathouse and his family. MacTavish said as a business that's less than three years old, he does not currently have the capital to open a new space for Imbibe.

"I am incredibly proud of what Imbibe has become and I would love to be able to just up and move and recreate what was made here," he wrote.

"Hopefully, in time, we'll do it again."

TheMuseum will take over the space Imbibe now occupies,though what will be placed in the space is still unclear. Thereleasementions the possibility of a gift shop, an area for tech startups to showcase their work or a space for makers to build things.

The release also indicated that TheMuseum would pursue its own license for the first-floor atrium to do more events for young professionals.