Private Bakken club gets evicted

NEW YORK — A private club in North Dakota’s Bakken shale that once charged membership fees as high as $25,000 and served jumbo shrimp cocktail was evicted this month in a sign that oil’s plunge is undercutting the region’s go-go years.

The Bakken Club was ordered on Dec. 17 to vacate its premises on Williston’s Main Street after failing to pay rent, state court records show. The club owed $21,598 for rent plus $1,329.90 in late fees, the landlord, On The Spot Development, said in a Nov. 25 complaint. One check bounced.

The eviction, in the capital of the oilfield that set off the record surge in U.S. output, comes as a price war casts doubt on the boom’s future. The benchmark for U.S. crude oil fell to $52.70 a barrel at one point Tuesday, the cheapest since May 2009, from more than $107 in June. Drillers such as Continental Resources Inc., the Bakken pioneer led by billionaire Harold Hamm, are idling rigs and cutting spending.

The Bakken Club featured a Tuscan-style menu (linguine pescatore, roasted rack of lamb), a 30-foot hardwood and copper bar, five high-definition TVs, meeting rooms and an airport shuttle, according to its website. The cheapest membership cost $5,000 with a $250 monthly food minimum, while the highest level commanded $25,000.

In a court filing, the club accused the landlord of failing to return a security deposit, entering unannounced and neglecting the property’s sidewalks and landscaping. The landlord also undermined the business by posting on the club’s Facebook page, saying the kitchen “makes everything from a box” and “the food is terrible,” according to the Dec. 2 counterclaim.

The phone number on the club’s website was disconnected or out of service. Attorneys for both sides didn’t immediately return phone calls seeking comment.