Avant Gardner lender approved to buy New York’s Brooklyn Mirage, additional assets · News ⟋ RAThe approval for an approximately $110 million sale arrives two months after the venue complex filed for bankruptcy.
Two months after its parent company Avant Gardner filed for bankruptcy, New York’s Brooklyn Mirage may have a buyer.
Per Gothamist, Judge Mary Walrath has approved the private equity firm Axar Capital Management to buy the troubled East Williamsburg venue for approximately $110 million. The news arrives less than two weeks after Avant Gardner filed a permit to demolish 32,000 square feet of its complex—a space roughly the size of Brooklyn Mirage.
According to Axar, demolition is still on the table—but so is construction. During a Thursday hearing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, a lawyer for the firm said the venue would go forward with either course of action “in order to get the facility ready for the 2026 season.” This marks one of the first hints that Brooklyn Mirage, which has been closed since 2024, might eventually reopen. Resident Advisor has reached out to representatives for Avant Gardner and Axar for comment.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, Axar had reportedly previously agreed to loan Avant Gardner up to $45 million to support the complex in operating its other active venues, including the Great Hall and Kings Hall. Axar’s lawyers also asserted that if the company’s purchase of Mirage goes through, it would also assume liabilities like the venue’s court feeds, unpaid tax bills and rent.
Presently, Avant Gardner owes roughly $155.3 million to a number of creditors, including $1.87 million owed to Black Coffee. Back in July, Avant Gardner’s current CEO Gary Richards was overheard during a dinner at Columbus Circle restaurant Per Se telling a companion that the company was “looking to get a buyer” for Mirage, but doing so was “impossible” given the venue’s fraught circumstances.
We’ll continue reporting on this story as it unfolds.
Photo: Eric Cunningham