Sudden Closure Of Noah's A Shocker For Northfield High's Prom Committee
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - Northfield High School in Denver has a prom problem, a big one. The mood around next year's event is disappointment and anger.
The prom was set to be held at Noah's in Westminster. Then came word that the venue was closed permanently. The students and school are now out $5,400.
Gillian Stitt is one of the students helping organize the event.
"I was really shocked when I first found out that they all of a sudden closed and had not given us our money back," she told CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger.
Zaria Pitts is a senior and co-chair of the prom committee.
"I was shocked and upset because we put a lot of time and effort into this, and all our money was gone," she said.
The venue didn't just cause problems for proms, but several weddings --- leaving brides and grooms suddenly scrambling.
Noah's, which has more than two dozen locations, filed for bankruptcy last year. It was news to many of its customers.
Northfield teacher Jennifer Carabetta who oversees the student council said, "I wish they said something then, we never would have booked it. I hate that they were dishonest."
She says the students raised the money on their own through events like car washes.
The company claims it had to close under the court proceedings. The action has left a lot of people with a message for Noah's:
"You have hurt so many people with all this money they have lost," said senior Jenna Kwong.
The abrupt closing was first reported on Friday by CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger.
Noah's has responded to customers in an email:
Dear Clients,
The bankruptcy court managing our case has directed NOAH'S to cease operations immediately. This means that NOAH'S as the current operator will no longer be able to host your event, but you will be eligible to file for an administrative claim. Additionally, many building owners are willing to host events and are looking for new operators that can honor your event contracts.
NOAH'S has worked extremely hard to reorganize operations in order to continue hosting events, however negative publicity, along with the court order, has made it impossible to continue current operations. Over the last 13 years NOAH'S has hosted over 10,000 events including hundreds of couples who, with short notice, had lost their event date at other venues. We were always willing and happy to assist these couples and feel confident that your community of vendors will do likewise.
If you are interested in still hosting your event at your reserved location, even though NOAH'S will not be the management and servicing company please email us at operations@noahseventvenue.com. Please include in the subject line your location, event date and event type.
