08/06/2026
Our Saddest Announcement
After such a short but exciting beginning, we are heartbroken to announce that Collette’s will not be reopening.
We opened Collette’s because we wanted to bring something truly different to the Quad Cities—a place where people could laugh, sing, celebrate, and experience live dueling-piano entertainment that is difficult to find anywhere else in this area.
The support we received was overwhelming. The excitement surrounding our shows, the packed celebrations, the messages, reservations, private-party inquiries, and encouragement from the community meant more to us than we can explain. For the brief time we were able to operate, we saw exactly what Collette’s could have become.
Unfortunately, circumstances outside our control made continuing impossible.
On April 12, 2026, sewage-related water began entering the Collette’s space from plumbing problems elsewhere in the building. Water continued entering the venue on and off while the underlying problem remained unresolved.
We were later instructed in writing to cancel events “for the foreseeable future.” We did so while still paying for scheduled musicians, travel, employees, advertising, marketing, cleaning, and other operating expenses.
We were repeatedly told that repairs were planned. In May, we were told that a repair walkthrough would take place and that the work would begin. When the electricity temporarily prevented workers from continuing, we had it restored immediately.
After that, we waited.
We followed up in writing about the damaged flooring, open walls and ceilings, moisture and odor, the lack of air conditioning, and the fact that Collette’s could not safely or responsibly operate under those conditions.
Those communications went unanswered.
We submitted documentation of the losses caused by the closure. That included canceled performances, musician and travel expenses, employee costs, marketing, advertising, cleaning, lost events, and other expenses. As the closure continued through May, June, and July, we also lost private parties, group reservations, downtown-event business, customer confidence, and the momentum we had worked so hard to build.
We were also told that repairs would be addressed following discussions with the Health Department.
For nearly three months, we waited because we believed the damage would be repaired and that the business would be given a fair opportunity to reopen.
Blackhawk Bank took ownership of the building in April 2026. At that time, Collette’s was already operating under the lease that began in 2025, when PCC owned the building.
From the time Blackhawk took ownership in April through July 23, 2026, neither Blackhawk Bank nor MillTown told Collette’s in writing—or in any other communication—that the existing lease would not be honored. During those months, Collette’s continued receiving rent demands, tenant communications, utility communications, and repair communications that treated Collette’s as the tenant operating under the existing arrangement.
It was not until July 24, 2026, during a telephone call, that Collette’s was first told verbally that the existing lease would not be recognized. During that same call, Collette’s was told that the sewage-damage repairs, air conditioning, and other building issues would be addressed only if a completely new lease was signed.
By that point, Collette’s had already spent more than three months waiting for repairs, losing revenue, paying expenses, and relying on earlier communications that the damage would be repaired.
Had we been told in April that the existing lease would not be honored and that the repairs would not be completed without a new lease, we could have made different decisions before months of additional losses accumulated.
We asked for the bank’s position, the lease decision, the refusal to cover the damage, and the refusal to acknowledge our losses to be put in writing.
Those answers were not provided.
After months of unanswered emails, the written response we finally received focused on whether Collette’s still had the financial means to reopen. It did not answer the detailed questions regarding the promised repairs, the existing lease, the sewage damage, or the losses caused by the closure.
The reality is that after being closed for months, paying expenses without revenue, losing events and customers, and receiving no commitment to repair the space under our existing agreement, we no longer have the financial ability to start over under an entirely new lease.
We were also told that the owners intended to sell the building, with Collette’s operating there or without us.
Collette’s was owned by Tammy Cousins, a disabled veteran, who invested all of the personal money she had available into creating this business. Her family and one other investor also contributed significant money, time, labor, and trust.
That investment included the buildout, equipment, heating and air-conditioning work, furnishings, improvements, advertising, and everything required to transform the space into a unique entertainment venue.
We have been told that none of that investment will be reimbursed, and that none of the losses caused by the closure will be paid or acknowledged.
This is not how we imagined Collette’s ending.
We believed we were building something special for downtown Davenport and the entire Quad Cities. Based on the response to the shows we were able to hold, we know the community believed in it too.
To every musician, employee, customer, friend, family member, local business, and person who supported us—thank you.
You gave Collette’s a chance to shine, even though that opportunity was far shorter than any of us expected.
We are devastated, but we will always be grateful for the exciting nights, the laughter, the music, and the support you gave us.
Thank you, Quad Cities.
— Tammy Cousins
Owner, Collette’s LLC
