An uncharacteristically somber mood settled over the workout mats and punching bags of Primo Boxing this week, all still as the club’s owner and some young patrons quietly cleaned up remnants of a celebration.

A couple dozen Santa Barbara youths had just gathered the weekend before in the space at 701 E. Haley St. for an early Thanksgiving party — the last one the nonprofit would host.

Tears were shed and memories shared as young patrons of the nonprofit’s free boxing club came to terms with the fact that Primo Boxing will close for good at the end of the month after 18 years of teaching teens respect and discipline through boxing.

“This was like my home away from home,” said Mario Alulema, a former patron who offered to help owner Joe Pommier begin the cleanup.

Too much juggling and prioritizing of bills have forced the club to close, Pommier said, a decision that was reached by Primo’s board of directors last month.

For years, Primo has been bailed out by the City of Santa Barbara, which owns the building and has previously lowered rental rates and forgiven thousands of dollars in back rent.

Pommier said efforts last year to bring in a new board that could assist the club in becoming financially stable also failed.

“It’s been a struggle off and on for years,” Pommier told Noozhawk. “We tried and tried and tried. We just couldn’t get it done. The city has always been on our side, but they need the rent paid, too.

“It was a hard decision to make. The kids are heartbroken. A lot of friends, lot of memories.”

Pommier and his wife, Jean, took over Primo Boxing in 1995, just after the program moved into its current space. The program was founded in 1981 by Pommier’s boxing coach, Art Carbahal.

Primo became a nonprofit in 1997, offering a free space for youth to take boxing lessons, do homework or receive advice from the club’s fatherly leader.

Pommier said he hopes another program will fill the void left by Primo’s closure, and added that he will continue training kids at nearby Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing.

“We’re really not going anywhere,” Pommier said. “Some kids are still going to follow me over there. Life goes on.”

The Santa Barbara Police Activities League is in discussions to take over the lease for a boxing program of its own, but those plans were in the preliminary stages this week, according to Santa Barbara Sgt. Riley Harwood.

Primo must be completely out of the space Dec. 31, hence help with cleanup.

For youths who can’t afford sparring lessons, Pommier said, he plans to continue teaching some students boxing at Ortega Park, across the street from his new home at Paragon.

— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.