Contrary to rumors circulating around town, longtime Hillcrest club Rich’s will not be closing down in August, said Rich’s manager, Bart Johnson.

The possibility that Rich’s would close was included in an article published in Update last week focusing on Hillcrest businesses going under, which reported that “industry sources are indicating that Rich’s dance club on University Avenue will be closing in the near future.”

Not so, says Rich’s.

“I called them over the weekend and demanded that they print a retraction, and they were pretty forthcoming with it,” Johnson said.

Update Editor Erik Siwak’s article, entitled “Is Hillcrest Becoming a Ghost Town?” focused on Hillcrest’s skyrocketing residential and commercial rents as well as redevelopment plans in the area. It mentioned Rich’s as one of a number of businesses that will be closing, have already closed, or will be relocating to cheaper neighborhoods.

“After talking with them about it, they have gone on record to say that the club is not closing, and it’s going strong,” Siwak told the Gay & Lesbian Times.

Johnson said neither he nor the owners was contacted for confirmation. “I called them last Thursday [April 28] and asked them where they got their information from,” he said. “And they said, ‘We talked to some of your patrons, and we talked to one of your employees who wished to remain anonymous, and I said, ‘Did you ever talk to anyone from Rich’s?’ and they said no.”

Siwak said Update left several phone messages at the Rich’s office seeking comment on the rumors, and also sent an email.

He also said Update stands by the story as it originally ran, and will be elaborating on the matter in a follow-up piece in this week’s edition.