After more than seven decades, Harvard Square Whitneys will close its doors for good by the end of the year.

“It is with a heavy heart that Whitneys of Harvard Square, a staple in the heart of Harvard Square for more than seven decades, announced its forced closure,” the company said in a Dec. 13 statement.

The company, opened in 1953, greet each other a “gathering place where friendships are made, stories are shared and memories are made”, and calls for closure is the result of complaints about daytime noise.

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“Despite Whitney’s dedication to serving the community and preserving the spirit of the historic square…owner Dan McGuire is forced to close his doors due to the level of daytime noise, as explained by the company of ( Gerald) Chan, Mayhaw LLC.” the company said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The release said the company was first informed of a planned eviction in June and received a final eviction notice for Dec. 31, 2024, after a noise complaint earlier this year.

“Whitneys has always performed music in accordance with our entertainment license, and we have never had to meet with the City of Cambridge and its licensing board regarding any complaints,” McGuire said in the release.

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“We’re starting to think that ‘noise’ really can’t be the reason we want to rent and leave in such a hurry,” he wrote.

And according to several reportsthis is not the case.

Instead, the reasoning is “non-payment of bar rent since October 2023,” the Mayhaw LLC attorney said. told the Boston Globe.

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“The landlord made considerable efforts during and after the pandemic to preserve Whitney’s tenancy,” the attorney told the Globe.

“Unfortunately, Whitneys’ continued refusal to pay rent has resulted in an out-of-court settlement agreement to cease operations at the end of the year.”

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The establishment at 37 John F. Kennedy St. is a Mayhaw LLC. property, which is owned by billionaire and investor Gerald L. Chan.

Both parties agreed in court in October that the company would cease operations by Jan. 1 and vacate the property by Jan. 15, according to Harvard Crimson. In exchange, Mayhaw would forgive nearly $50,000 in back rent.

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Dan White, a Chan affiliate who manages the JFK Street property, told the outlet that it was McGuire’s back rent that prompted the eviction.

“It’s hard to keep a tenant if they’re not paying rent,” he said.

“…The guiding principle of any landlord, I guess, is that you want your tenants to be successful and you want them to pay rent. »