Nottingham bar Vibes was packed out with a maximum capacity of 200 revellers when it first opened in September 2021. But five weeks later the pandemic forced immediate closure when the second lockdown hit.
Nearly a year down the line similar numbers haven't returned and stand at around less than half that at any one time. In a bid to win punters back the owners Richard Moore and Mick Frankton have invested £35,000 in a mini revamp and new light-up dance floor and he's dropped the price of drinks ready for the Upper Parliament Street bar and club, reopening tomorrow Saturday, July 16).
Customers will be able to have a boogie to a DJ playing cheesy pop songs from the 1970s on the illuminated LED dance floor, very similar to the one in Popworld. Mr Moore said: "We've got to get the venue busy again. When we first opened we were rammed, it was great. People were queuing outside the door to get in.
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"Popworld opened and a load of new bars popped up as well and it just killed it, it never came back. We kept going over and ticking over but that's all we've done. We've not broken any records. Now on Saturdays we have around 80 at any one night.
"When we got the place this was how we were going to do it (the dance floor) then Covid hit and shut us down and Popworld opened with the same idea. You know what, we thought we’ll still do it how we wanted it. So job done."
Whereas most bars and pubs have been forced to put up drinks' prices, they've been slashed at Vibes to attract a crowd on the three nights it opens - Friday and Saturday nights, when it attracts an eclectic range aged 18 to 60, and it's part of the Wednesday night student circuit.
"We dropped Fosters and John Smith's by 40p a pint, shots are £1 and VK 's are two for a fiver," said Mr Moore. "I think the next six months of the year will be the busier period with a lot of events and parties," he added.
The new dance floor was put in during a two-week closure, along with new flooring and some new seating. While drinkers can bop along to the likes to Abba in the main bar, rock nights will be held downstairs on Fridays. The bar will reopen at 7pm tomorrow and will stay open on Friday and Saturday nights until 2.30am.
Mr Moore, who also owns The Stage on the opposite side of the road and has just signed a new lease, added: "I thought that would be the one that was hard but it's coming back absolutely booming - it's unbelievable. We have two fantastic DJs there. In the week it's quiet but at weekends it's booming."
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