11/19/2025
A Letter to The Rendezvous Community
Hi all, Jamie & Semon here. We’d like to introduce ourselves as the “New Caretakers” of the historic Rendezvous & Jewelbox Theater. The last time you heard from us was shortly after we received our keys on August 11. We were admittedly unprepared for what ended up being a quick and incomplete handover. In light of the frustration caused by our last post, we wanted to be thoughtful about what we said next.
Thank you to Meg Van Huygen and The Stranger for reaching out and allowing us the opportunity to share a little bit about our lessons learned. (article linked in bio).
Buying the rights to a preexisting business with an almost 100-year legacy is and was scary. It was a leap of faith we FELT WE COULD TAKE because we knew our dream was bigger than us. Community is one of our core values, the throughline of our decades-long careers, and the WHY behind our vision for the new Rendezvous.
As new and proudly African & Asian business owners raised within collectivist cultures, we feel it is our responsibility to share this prosperity and be ‘“Caretakers”’ of a community space where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive. Our ultimate goal is to cultivate meaningful opportunities in the hospitality and performing arts industries for BIPOC and people from marginalized communities.
We sincerely apologize to the creatives who were abruptly displaced during the temporary closure. Thank you to Seattle Drum School, who answered our call to host one of the events affected. Since our booking records did not include complete contact information, we felt the need to alert everyone of the developing situation via our previous (and indeed, vague) message. We were in no position to remain open. In addition to waiting for our permits to be issued, the 98-year old Rendezvous was not equipped to provide the guest and artist experience we’d hoped to deliver.
You haven’t heard much from us, because for the last three months we’ve been figuring out how to say all of this, while executing essential renovations to all four of our spaces: The Jewelbox Theater, The Grotto, the VIP lounge, and the main bar.
As we get ready to reopen our doors, we are excited to share that the main bar has undergone a complete transformation: refreshed decor, new electrical, an updated sound system, a new floor in the kitchen and VIP lounge and new lighting to show it all off. Updates to The Grotto are yet to come, and the Jewelbox Theater remains mostly untouched–except for technical upgrades that will hopefully serve our performers better.
This effort could not have happened without a number of contractors, friends, and plain old love that our family and community showed us. Thanks to Lu Ying and Babe of Belltown who advised us along the way. Thank you to Semret Fesseha (Semon’s sister) who helped us pay homage to the original 1920’s & 30’s ambiance while incorporating “modern French” design elements. Thank you to Monica Ly for being on site when we couldn’t, to Chris Govella for his handiness in all things sound and technical–and for being a calm presence. To Evan Chan for helping us figure out what was physically possible, Meghna Jaradi for putting our thoughts into a mission and values–and into words you all can understand! To the new (and one old!) staff of the Rendezvous–John, Kenny, Greg, Mackenzie, Lavelle, Chris, Samson, Biniam, and Dietreich–for joining us. And last, but not at all least, to Eliza Chan–our Operations Manager–who jumped in on this dream with us from the beginning. We couldn’t have done it without you, EChan.
Special thanks to Positive Systems for installing our updated A/V & lighting amenities, Lifetime Green Coatings for our new floors, and Junk King for helping clean up and organize a nearly century-old space.
Lastly, but certainly not least at all, we want to thank our families–both chosen and not–that helped us get to this point. Thank you to our unapologetically single-minded mothers, Alem Andemariam and Mary Lee, and Fesseha and Peter, the sensitive Dads that stood alongside them.
Our mission is: Build opportunity. Cultivate belonging. Live creatively.
In this moment of history, making and sharing art is more important than ever. We believe artistic expression is essential to our collective well-being. We have been dreaming of an intercultural revolution, and hope that you will join us.
We invite creatives of all experience levels to submit a booking inquiry for access to performance space. The Jewelbox Theater and the main bar are also available for private event bookings. Sign up for our newsletter to be among the first to know when new events and community happenings drop.
Moving forward, we can only hold true to ourselves and do what we do best: we are creatives holding space for creatives. We come from cultures of care, and we care deeply about our work. We will re-open Thanksgiving Day and are excited to welcome you back to this well-loved space.
The New Caretakers,
Semon & Jamie
