Imperial clings to life as Spice stops the music

Imperial clings to life as Spice stops the music

BY ALEXANDER LEWIS
Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel will remain closed for up to four weeks in the wake of two forced closures and the departure of its weekly dance dungeon Spice Cellar.

The notorious nightclub was forced to shut for 72 hours last Friday for the second time in little over a month by the Office of Liquor, Racing and Gaming due to the detection of “ongoing drug dealing and illicit drug use” at the venue over the past fortnight.

The hotel’s owner, Shadd Danesi, took the helm on Monday, with reports that staff had been laid off.

“Whilst the hotel is allowed to reopen tonight, Shadd has elected to keep it closed for two to four weeks to establish a business plan to move forward and return the old girl to her former glory,” read a post by the hotel’s Facebook page on Monday.

But Spice Cellar, which rents the basement in the hotel, could no longer handle the heat, announcing in a statement on Saturday that it would cease operating indefinitely.

“The current climate for late night entertainment in Sydney has been put under extreme duress. The misconception and lack of understanding towards late night culture, combined with the introduction of 1:30 am lockout laws has seen many venues close over the past year, putting a grave future in place for Sydney’s late-night entertainment industry,” the statement read.

“The overarching agenda by conservative groups for Sydney is to remove late-night culture rather than acknowledge it as a core part of the cultural fabric that enriches a city.”

“Whilst we appreciate that the NSW Government is trying to reduce alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour, introducing lockout laws does not solve the problem.”

Law student Anthony Metcalfe, who frequented The Imperial, similarly blamed the “nanny state of NSW” for the venue’s woes.

“With a crack down on alcohol consumption, it is only natural that drug use amongst patrons will inevitably increase,” the 21-year-old told City Hub.

“Although it is outside of the lockout zones, clubs, pubs and bars are almost expected to follow suit.”

“If they expect to have a future as a venue, they need to close it for a few weeks to work on a new management strategy.”

Record store owner Stephan Gyory is a member of the nascent Stop The Music group, which has begun campaigning against the lockouts.

“As a 41-year-old man, I can’t go out and have a neat whiskey in a glass after midnight in my own city, which is ridiculous,” Mr Gyory said.
“We’ve got a really hastily enacted social policy that’s imposing the costs on one subsection of the community and one part of the economy,” he said.

“No one really wants to go back to the free-for-all that was on the streets in The Cross, and no one wants to get punched to death, but surely there is a way of having a late night economy that is safe and thriving.”

Mr Gyory said a cultural change was required to curb alcohol related violence rather than “lazy policies that look like they’re dealing with the problem”.

“We have a masculinity problem in this country. If our definition of masculinity is to punch on and to be a thug and to sexually harass women, then we need a male sexual revolution – not some laws that curtails everybody’s civil liberties.

But we’re not having that conversation.”

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