The neon lights on El Mocambo Tavern's famous palm tree sign were supposed to go out after the final show at the historic rock ‘n’ roll venue Thursday night.

But it seems that Dragons' Den star Michael Wekerle has stepped in to rescue the El Mo, as it is affectionately called, in a last-minute bid raising hopes that bands will keep playing at the music venue at College Street and Spadina Avenue.

Rumours began to circulate Thursday morning that the well-known Toronto investor had purchased the historic venue. In a tweet, Wekerle said he was making a "big announcement" at the El Mo tonight at 9 p.m.

A Light of Day Canada fundraiser for Parkinson's Disease has been scheduled at the College Street bar tonight and in a tweet Thursday, the charity confirmed Wekerle is the new owner.

The El Mo sign went up in 1946 and in its heyday, the two-storey club hosted such musical greats as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joan Jett, Martha and the Vandellas, April Wine and the Rolling Stones.

After a series of changing hands, co-owners Sam Grosso and Marco Petrucci bought the club in August 2012 with the intent to resurrect it as a hotspot for Toronto’s music scene.

The owners filmed the beginning of their extensive and ambitious renovations.

In a video posted on the club’s website, Grosso says, “We’re here for the long haul. This is serious. We have a lot of money invested and if we don’t do it right, we’re going to lose it.”

But the best-laid plans were defeated by a lack of revenue that reportedly made it difficult to pay off the mortgage.

The doors had to close, the venue was put up for sale at a listing price of $4 million in March, and El Mo was going to go out with a bang Thursday with headliner John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, Santana’s lead singer Alex Ligertwood and a line-up of other artists.

Warshafsky said his understanding is that the buyer intends to keep El Mo going as a music venue, but directed further questions to Grosso. Grosso, in turn, refused to confirm the buyer's intentions for the space.

As for the quintessential sign, Grosso initially tried to sell it on eBay, but public pressure forced him to abort that sale. In an interview with the Toronto Star earlier this week, Grosso said,

“Everybody wants to know about this f---ing sign… If people cared as much about the business as the sign, we wouldn’t have a problem with the sign.”

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