R-Bar joins Charles Street Tap in closing its doors this September as operating costs and the cost-of-living crisis push the bar to a breaking point.
This Tuesday, the LGBTQ+ venue R-Bar, in operation for more than 21 years, released a statement on its official social media profile announcing the cessation of its trading operations at the end of next month.
The date has been set for the 20th of September, with Charles Street Tap’s final night sometime in the middle of the same month.
No longer financially stable due to business rates, rent, energy, stock and other operating costs, among other reasons, visits have continued to dwindle, with people no longer able to afford nights out, according to the venue.
Although the announcement turned sour among fellow visitors on social media, members of the community have expressed their anger with the ownership of these inclusive spaces.
In response to the breaking news, criticism has raised concerns about the passive ownership under which operations of these venues continue.
“They have left dozens, if not hundreds, of queer employees in the lurch,” one post read, further elaborating the lack of equity and profit sharing with the LGBTQ+ community.
To this backlash, Revenge’s Managing Director, Steve Jones, said:
“I’ve worked at R-Bar for 13 years, including the last five as Managing Director. I am part of this community, as are the managers, bartenders, DJs, performers and hosts who have built these venues over decades.
“The management team at Charles Street are also members of our community and have been there for more than 20 years. Between these venues, hundreds of LGBTQ+ people have been employed and tens of thousands of pounds have been raised and donated to LGBTQ+ causes.
“Reducing a queer venue’s value to the identity or wealth of whoever ultimately owns the building completely ignores the queer people who actually create, run and sustain those spaces every day.”
Jones, who started out as a DJ and then took on a senior role, voiced his doubts on Instagram regarding the future of LGBTQ+ venues in Brighton, setting out a time limit of 2 years before these establishments disappear completely.
Amid these financial pressures, the team urges the Brighton & Hove City Council to promote and invest in the city’s nightlife and LGBTQ+ venues.
In an interview with The Argus, current leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, Labour councillor Bella Sankey, reminds of the ‘radical new licensing policy’ launched this year that permits venues to set flexible operating hours and of the local government’s ‘night-time economy strategy’ to tackle the closure crisis.
The Night Time Industries Association warns in its 2024 The Last Night Out report that nightlife venues are predicted to be ‘extinct’ by 2030.
