Black Sheep Bar boss looks to take over another closed Croydon club
EXCLUSIVE
By Aline Nassif
aline.nassif@essnmedia.co.uk
A manager at one of Croydon's best known bars is looking at "branching out" and taking over the former Hub bar.
Paul Bossick has jointly managed club the Black Sheep Bar with his dad Howard for the past 12 years.
He is eyeing up Hub, which closed its doors in February, as a second venue in the town centre for playing the sort of "alternative music" the Black Sheep is known for.
Mr Bossick, 37, said: "Business is pretty good and we are looking at sites to expand, as rents are a lot more sensible in the current economic climate.
"We're definitely looking into the Hub as a venue for an older clientele who are not catered for in Croydon.
"The fact that the venue has three separate rooms means we could have three different styles of music simultaneously, which would give people much more diversity on a single night."
The Black Sheep, which opens most nights except for the occasional Sunday, prides itself on its "alternative" music nights for older teens and 20-somethings, ranging from gothic to punk and even hip-hop.
But Paul has no desire to create competition for his own club – just yards further down the same road.
So his new venue, he says, would be aimed at the 30-somethings who still enjoy a night out.
He explained: "London clubs have very successful over-30s nights but I don't know of any such thing in Croydon, so I'd like to tap into that market."
2 Comments
by David, South Croydon
Friday, June 26 2009, 4:50PM
“Good luck to them. I hope that they are very successful.
Too many bars in Croydon (well, those that are still in business) just pump out the same old rubbish that they hope will appeal to the widest audience possible. It is also normally a case of trying to do as little as possible for the maximum revenue.
From what I heard Walkabout closed this week, so the choices in Croydon for any age group are pretty limited right now. The biggest disappointment though is that Croydon doesn't actually have a proper nightclub. A lot of people I know don't view it as a legitimate place to go out because of the lack of a nightclub.”
by DDD, Croydon
Friday, June 26 2009, 10:46AM
“As Croydon bars go, Black Sheep Bar produces less trouble than almost any other bar in Croydon. I believe they use membership only, which takes very little time to register, and also a scanning system to gain entry. It is also one of the few bars in Croydon that works very hard on the entertainment aspect in order to bring in drinkers.
The focus in most of the mainstream bars seems to be on maximizing the sale of cheap drink rather than more entertainment, but higher drinks prices thus turning Croydon into a no- go area and a ghost town. The biggest complaint I hear from clubbers is that there is nothing in Croydon if you're over 20 years old, and all they see is aggression and fighting. So if this family business succeedes in taking over the Hub premises, it can only be an improvement and therefore good thing for croydon's nightlife. It might also lay to rest the ghosts of this venue, and bring happier times instead.”