Downtown Danbury's Tuxedo Junction Closing Aug. 31

Tuxedo Junction opened in 1985, and among its national acts were performances by Joan Jett, Stephen Stills, Kansas, 38 Special and Oasis. It will close at the end of August.

Ron and Rick Jowdy founded the business in 1985, and sold it in 1998 to Michael Roviello and Al Caccamo, who will close it on Aug. 31.

"If you've ever been in downtown Danbury, you know why it closed," said Al Caccamo. He said the problems are numerous. One is parking, which he said is too inconvenient for people who have other options. Another problem is people begging for money and a third problem is too much competition.

Caccamo said the city of Danbury could have worked on each of these problems over the years, but it didn't. "You need to reach out to the people who are living it," Caccamo said. "Mayor Giuliani cleaned up New York. I think a leader could have handled the 30 people in Danbury."

While Caccamo said Danbury didn't reach out to him, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Caccamo didn't work with either Danbury or with CityCenter Danbury, the downtown promotion district.

Boughton said he wasn't surprised the business failed.

"They gave up on that business a long time ago," Boughton said. "They brought in promoters and they started bringing in the '18 to Party', '21 to Drink' parties. They appealed to the lowest common denominator." 

Whenever someone's business fails, they blame anyone but themselves, Boughton said. Andrea Gartner, executive director of CityCenter Danbury, agreed the business owners didn't cooperate with CityCenter. She said she liked talking to Al and he had some good ideas, but he didn't commit heavily enough in Danbury.

Gartner said CityCenter is trying to attract a regional business operator to Ives Street, which CityCenter named the Dining and Entertainment District in the 1990s. She said it hasn't worked, so far, but the business vacancy creates an opportunity for CityCenter.

Rick Jowdy, who still owns the Tuxedo building with his brother Ron, said he is hoping someone will come forward to reopen the bar/music venue.

"It was the place to be, and we provided people with great entertainment," Rick Jowdy said. People credit the Jowdy brothers with a hands-on management style that meant they were there when it was open and they answered the telephones. "The building is available for any use allowed in the downtown Danbury zone."

Tuxedo Junction's best years happened when the Downtown Dining and Entertainment District was in full swing, when Tuxedo's was open, Mimi's, Ciao's, the Hat City Ale House, Colorado Brew Pub and Bopper's, said Rich Antous, the downtown coordinator for the Danbury Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team.

"There would be 3,000 people in that alleyway and no fights,"  said Antous. He agreed after thinking it over, that might be a rosy perspective. "After we'd close up Chuck's, everybody would always go to Tuxedo Junction. They're closing?"