David Cooley on Wednesday announced the sale of his iconic West Hollywood establishments, The Abbey Food & Bar and The Chapel, to businessman Tristan Schukraft.
Cooley developed the space as a sanctuary and center of activism during key periods such as the AIDS Crisis and the push for marriage equality and transgender rights.
Tristan Schukraft, a technology entrepreneur and hotelier known in the West Hollywood LGBTQ+ community, has a business portfolio that includes MISTR, a telemedicine provider of online PrEP and HIV care, and LGBTQ+ hotel and nightlife venues in Puerto Rico. He plans to respect The Abbey’s legacy while bringing new ideas to reflect the evolving LGBTQ+ community and his hospitality approach.
The Abbey’s management team, including General Manager Todd Barnes and Assistant General Manager Kiki Farahat, will continue in their roles. The Abbey and The Chapel’s schedule of events and parties will proceed as planned.
The sale’s completion is anticipated in the coming months, pending the transfer of ABC licenses, after which Schukraft will assume ownership and operational responsibilities.
https://www.businessinsider.com/puerto-rico-act-60-tax-breaks-bona-fide-citizen-residency-2024-2
Seems that Micky’s is now also for sale… https://www.brandonmichaelsgroup.com/8855santamonicablvd
I’ll never forgive him for the hideous blue building on the corner of Westbourne and SMB lol
Much congratulations to David Cooley and Tristan Schukraft for doing this sale and keeping The Abbey gay positive.Hopefully,the existing managers will keep things as they are and keep welcoming gay patrons who made The Abbey what it is today.
This article doesn’t mention this: The new owner lives in Puerto Rico, where he runs a hotel that caters to gay clients.
David is an outstanding man who built an institution that served proudly and stood up boldly for the LGBTQ community. Tristan is likewise a wonderful guy who I have no doubt will do exactly as he says — keeping The Abbey in its glory and pushing into the future. Love both these guys and so happy for more LGBTQ ownership in our fine village. 🙂
Super disappointing. There’s something really shady about this guy’s businesses. The biggest red flag is how his company is able to provide PrEP for free (in a very unsupervised setting), and yet, seems to receive a huge salary. I would love it if someone could explain this business model to me. How does this work?
Not mentioned in the article is Tristan’s run for City Council 10 years ago. He was an impressive, really nice guy. Had no idea he has accomplished so much in the meantime, but not surprised. This is good news. I think we can take a big collective sigh of relief… I believe The Abbey will be in good hands.
I wonder why there is no mention that he is a former West Hollywood city council candidate in 2013?
He ran in 2015.
Like I said 2013: https://patch.com/california/westhollywood/candidate-q-a-tristan-schukraft
well he sat next to me in the 2015 race. so perhaps he ran twice.
He ran in 2013 and 2015
While following David Cooley, who was an iconic figure in the West Hollywood story, Tristan certainly has the ability and creativity to bring a refreshed vibe to the Abbey. Wishing David Cooley the best and looking forward to seeing how the Abbey evolves.
What great news. Wishing David the best and we could not have asked for a better person to buy the business!
Wonderful transition for Abbey and Chapel. Congratulations to Schukraft and Cooley, respectively. And congratulations to the LGBTQ+ Community and Allies for maintaining a gathering spot that provides so much more than just liquor and dancing. Thank goodness it’s not going to be torn down for some clueless developer’s pathetic agenda.
Thank you, Cooley. Truly cool.