October 2022 Digtial Issue

SLUG HERE
INK Entertainment
gains confidence in attending
public gatherings again.
Sector-specific figures are
tricky to pin down, since
no single Canadian body is
responsible for nightclubs.
Even defining the sector can be
difficult, says Erin Benjamin,
president and CEO of the
Canadian Live Music Association,
based in Ottawa, which speaks for
live-music venues.
“If dancing to a DJ is the
primary reason people go there,
it's a nightclub,” she says. “If
they go for live music, it's a livemusic
venue.”
Johnston elaborates: “In a
concert theatre, you can't dance.
In a bar, you can drink, but it's
not a place where you would
get up and dance. A nightclub
is that last place you go in the
evening; it’s the place you go and
enjoy yourself and dance with a
stranger.” Complicating matters
is the fact that some venues
operate as a restaurant or bar
in the daytime, but turn into a
nightclub after dark. Others offer
DJ dancing through the week and
live music on weekends.
OPENING DOORS AGAIN
In Kamloops, there’s only one
other true nightclub apart from
The Blue Grotto, Johnston
says, but he and his wife Sherri
Lynn King are in the process of
re-opening a renowned local spot
previously called Cactus Jack’s,
which they are re-branding as
The Nightshift on Fifth.
Others are likewise cautiously
expanding. “The last two years
were not the right time to open
a 400-seat nightclub,” says Ryan
Moreno, CEO and co-founder of
The Joseph Richard Group, based
in Surrey, B.C., which operates
numerous properties across B.C.’s
Lower Mainland. Now, however,
the company is re-launching
Rooster’s, an iconic Fraser Valley
cabaret, and “we’ve completely
re-vamped and renovated all the
spaces,” he says.
In Toronto, too, things are
starting to percolate again,
says Rob Lisi, VP of Marketing
with Charles Khabouth’s
INK Entertainment Group.
“Throughout the pandemic,
we had to continuously adjust
and adapt our nightclubs to
accommodate the various
restrictions; Cabana Pool Bar, for
example, re-opened last year as
an outdoor restaurant instead of
a day club,” he says. “With that in
mind, this year we have focused
on getting our nightclubs and
day clubs back to ‘normal’ at full
capacity and providing some
incredible experiences that our
guests have been missing.”
There’s a pent-up demand for
in-person entertainment, but
“people are still very cautious,”
says Erin Benjamin, who notes
that the 40-plus audience is
buying fewer event tickets and
failing to use up to 20 per cent
of the tickets they do buy. Also,
she says “we need to be thinking
about marketing to younger folks
in a different way.”
ATTRACTING NEW AUDIENCES
Inflation, real-estate costs
and labour shortages
notwithstanding, an “elevated
experience” is what today’s
nightclub guests demand.
“We have seen a new, younger
audience emerge at our
nightclubs, including Rebel and
Toybox, who weren’t 19 prior to
the pandemic and want to make
the most of the bigger nightclub
experiences they missed out on
with their friends,” says Lisi.
With younger nightclub
patrons, tequila is having a
moment, as are fruity, low-calorie
vodka spritzers and hard seltzers
such as White Claw, Truly, Nude
and NÜTRL, apparently perceived
as health-conscious options. The
“elevated” side of the equation is
satisfied by craft cocktails, which
Moreno reports seeing more:
“made from scratch, with multiple
components; a lot of them are
hand-curated ingredients.”
However, at The Blue Grotto,
“I have tried to offer craft
cocktails, but all we’re going
through is Corona and vodka,”
says Johnston, who reports that
“if anything, I've found people
have simplified their tastes when
they come to my venue.”
Based on the demand for
spritzers and seltzers, “I felt there
was a trend leading to low- and
zero-alcohol spirits,” he adds,
“but nope, people don’t go for
it.” Instead, he sees familiar
demographic trends: craft beer
for the hipsters (“the people
who wear toques all summer”);
MATEUS ANDRE
46 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY OCTOBER 2022 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM