The phone number has been disconnected. The website hasn't been updated for months. And on a recent Friday night (usually when bars are the busiest) the place is locked up and deserted.

Yup, for all intents and purposes, it appears as though Club Mardi Gras in Scottsdale is closed for business. The lights are still on at the live music venue and bar, located near the intersection of McDowell and Hayden roads, but apparently no one's home.

Although I haven't been able to speak with owner Jeff Chazen to confirm this (repeated phone calls haven't been returned), rumor has it that he's donezo with Mardi Gras. According to the employees of the nearby El Dorado Bar, he's returned to his hometown of Chicago and will eventually be selling the place.

While Chazen began running Mardi Gras back in 2008, Mardi Gras itself has been around since 2003. Over the past seven years it hosted all manner of live entertainment in its main bar and the adjacent VooDoo Lounge, ranging from comedy and DJ nights to rock, punk, industrial, and alt-country bands.

Given its relative proximity to the nightlife epicenter that is Old Town Scottsdale, we imagine it won't be long until someone else is serving up drinks and live music at the establishment.

• Opening/Closing