Brunswick protectors plan boycott of the Richmond Hotel, the second bar owned by Dan Dencev

London Free Press Wed, October 22, 2008

By JONATHAN SHER

Those who sought to protect the Brunswick Hotel from the wrecking ball now plan to boycott a second downtown bar owned by the same person. With the demise of the Brunswick underway, Rob Gordon, a guitarist who played there, is organizing the boycott against the bar at the Richmond Hotel -- both properties are owned by Dan Dencev. Gordon launched the boycott Sunday after Dencev began to demolish the Brunswick without telling the engineer who was supposed to supervise the demolition. His actions led to an investigation by Ontario's Labour Ministry. "Here's a guy who doesn't care about art, culture or heritage," Gordon said of Dencev. "So I decided I'll hit him in the wallet -- that's the language he speaks." DOWNTOWN LIVING: City hall abetted demo Told of the boycott, Dencev said he was powerless to stop one, but challenged the contention he was an enemy of heritage and the arts. "To say I don't like culture is baloney," he said. "These (critics) have no clue." Gordon started the boycott on a Facebook page created this summer for those trying to protect the Brunswick. Since his first posting of the boycott Sunday, 17 people have responded, most enthusiastic. One even advocated vandalism, a measure Gordon condemned in response. "(A boycott) is definitely a practical solution . . . There are a lot of other places to go downtown," he said. Gordon played guitar for The Straits and Skip Tracer, renting a room at the Brunswick to practice and performing downstairs. Until the demolition, he was going to the bar at the Richmond Hotel a couple of times a month. Efforts by city council to save the Brunswick failed twice, first because the wording of a resolution was later deemed inadequate by city lawyers and later because a slim majority thought the building wasn't worth saving.