A brand-new mini nightclub is set to launch in Houghton le Spring over the Easter bank holiday weekend, bringing a touch of class and finesse to the local area with hopes of creating an exciting nightlife hub.
TROPIs Bar on the ever-busy Newbottle Street once stood as a pharmacy, but local businessman Michael Donkin who also owns the Evolution 24 Hour Gym which sits adjacent has been working hard over the past couple of months to transform the barren building into something fresh with his wife, Steph.
And after his extreme efforts and endeavours, he is set to open the brand-new establishment for eager members of the public this Easter bank holiday, with an exclusive VIP soft-launch set to take place on Good Friday (15 April).
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Speaking to Chronicle Live about the new business venture, Michael, 36, said: "It was a pharmacy originally, it was basically a double shop front. We've got a premises license on it and as far as I'm aware it's the first of its kind.
"We're going to run it as a club-themed bar - so do you know how you've got your micro-pubs and things like that? We're going to run this as a kind of micro-club, it's a relatively small space - about 9x9 metres the main area.
"It'll obviously be ran on a pub license but it'll have a club theme with the likes of a DJ playing house music, cocktails and hopefully quite classy and trendy."
TROPIs is also located within the vicinity of three other bars and pubs, so Michael hopes to bring a pub-hopping experience to the area, while working closely with other local establishments to benefit the wider area.
He added: "There's three predominant pubs in this area I suppose. There's a Wetherspoons which is about a minute away, then the other two pubs we're literally next door to.
"There seems to be quite a buzz at the minute, we've ran a couple of bits on social media and it's getting a lot of mates and friends tagging people in it and things like that. We run another business on Newbottle Street and the social media interest compared to that is probably about 100 times more."
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Michael continued: "Historically, Houghton itself was a town centre and people used to travel in for nights out here, but I think gone recent years Houghton got a bit of bad press - and to kind of compact that a little bit, the last two years we've also had lockdowns as well.
"We're going to be brand-new and try to bring a bit of an upper-class feel to the area, the White Lion which is immediately next door has just had a revamp of about half a million pounds, and then literally the other end of this street they've just started planting the groundings for a 24 hour Tesco, so hopefully there's a new and unique feeling coming to the area.
"The general consensus with other pub managers in the area is that there's a bit of a buzz in the air, and that it's going to become an almost destination I suppose. I think gone are the years are when you used to have one local standing by itself, people just don't want to travel any more, especially in the North East.
"We live in a culture where we bar-hop a little bit and I think that everyone in the area can only benefit each other."
Punters can expect a quaint and cosy venue with a booming club atmosphere when visiting the new venue which is set to launch Friday. With a capacity of less than 60, the venue itself will bring a hint of exclusivity to Houghton itself - in an establishment deemed the first of its kind.
Cocktails, spirits, house wines can all be enjoyed at the micro-club with bottled and draught beers also being served up while live music and DJs will take regular residence.
A VIP grand-opening which is exclusively ticketed will take place on Good Friday, before a public opening comes to town from 7.30pm until just after midnight the following evening, with house music and EDM blaring from the speakers. Easter Sunday will see a chilled out vibe during from noon up until the evening when 90s pop classics and chart music takes over.
An event will also take place on bank holiday Monday (18 April) in which, chilled acoustic covers will be played during the daytime and the resident DJ will once again take over from 7.30pm until late.
To find out more about TROPIs, visit their official Facebook page, here.
