PATRONS fuelling up on alcohol at home and the prevalence of drug-taking have been cited as the main reasons behind a decision to close Albury’s Groove Saint nightclub.
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The club’s owners, Armada Hospitality Group, will close the Dean Street venue after the June long weekend, with plans to re-open as a tapas-style bar.
“Nightclubs have been getting gradually more difficult to operate with youth pre-fuelling, increased compliance, security measures, as well as the rise of prevalent drug use,” Armada director Craig Shearer said.
“All of these factors eat into our ability to run a long-term viable business.
“And, to be honest, I am not sure most people are really after that style of venue any more.”
The Armada Hospitality Group bought the venue in 2010 when it was operating as Roi Bar.
It was renamed Groove Saint about six months later.
The venue was trading four nights a week at its peak and hosting 1000 people though the door in a night.
In 2013, the nightclub was listed as one of NSW’s most violent venues and was put on a Level 2 club classification (those with 12 to 18 recorded violent incidents between July 2012 to June 2013).
It meant the nightclub had to take extra measures including stopping alcohol service 30 minutes before closing; not using glass after midnight; and providing free water and food, or alcohol time-outs for every 10 minutes every hour after midnight.
Mr Shearer said the club was proud to say it had been recently removed from the classification and no longer had to take the additional measures.
Construction has started on a commercial kitchen and a change of name is in the pipeline.
The focus will be on social dining.
“We are excited to bring something a little more on trend and unique to Albury,” Mr Shearer said.
“The hospitality scene is always changing and while Groove Saint has been very popular over the past five years, it is time to evolve.”
Work on refurbishing the interior with dining tables, chairs and couches will start once the venue closes.
Mr Shearer hopes to re-open as a “funky, metro-style bar” in mid-June, two weeks after closing the doors.
“The place will have a cosmetic facelift and we will open the front area up to Dean Street to have dining inside and outside,” he said.
“We will still have music, but the venue will have a more relaxed feel and a revitalised music offer that will appeal to a much broader market.”
The venue will be open for lunch and dinner four days a week and take advantage of the outdoor Dean Street dining space.
The Armada group’s executive chef is former Albury man Jake Furst.
“He is one of the rising stars in the Melbourne food scene and was recently featured in a Melbourne publication for his chocolate stout cake dish,” Mr Shearer said.
“Jake helped design our menu and will be here in Albury to launch and oversee it.”
The Armada Hospitality Group also owns and operates Soden’s Hotel, as well as Beer DeLuxe hotels in Albury, Melbourne’s Federation Square and Hawthorn.
They are also close to starting construction on the new Beer DeLuxe venue in Wagga, which is expected to open in October.
