Published
Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 01:15
- Spice will no longer operate the Imperial Hotel basement as a clubbing destination.
The Spice Cellar Ersknvl in Sydney will cease operation, effective immediately.
The news comes just three months after owners Murat Kilic and Rebecca Alder relocated from their CBD home of three years, The Spice Cellar, to the iconic Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, rebranding the basement as the Spice Cellar Ersknvl. The move, which sought to circumvent Sydney's restrictive lockout laws by resettling outside the government's designated "entertainment district", has seen the new venue under increasing police scrutiny. This past weekend saw authorities enforce a second 72 hour forced closure of the three-level Imperial Hotel due to RSA and other license breaches. The closure coincided with Kilic and Alder's announcement that the Spice Cellar Ersknvl would cease opperating indefinitely.
In a statement released over the weekend, Spice explained that the "misconception and lack of understanding towards late night culture," along with the NSW government's lockout legislation, has caused numerous venues to close in the past year, suggesting a "grave future" for Sydney's entertainment industry. They go on to explain that "The Imperial Hotel will operate its usual array of entertainment in the public bar & cabaret lounge and the basement will be made available for venue hire."
The full statement can be viewed on the club's Facebook page.