Upper Level, Coconuts, Base, Tsunami, Attic, Lair, Celebs, Hi-RPM, Space La Nouba, Prive, Living Room, Zen, 51.
These are names that may evoke fond memories for many who partied in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, by the mid-2010s, most of these places were simply memories of an era of nightlife that some feared would never return.
However, the operators of Vice Nightclub and Lounge are hoping to restore that feeling at some level.
At the club’s private launch on July 5, manager Jairzinho Mohammed told the crowd on hand to view the ribbon cut by Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Faris al Rawi, as proof that the owners were eager to disprove the claim that the club scene in T&T was dying or dead.
“COVID came and that totally crashed the nightclub industry,” said Mohammed, “When restrictions were relaxed, people more got into the what I would say was bar hopping or the limes and, in that case, maybe clubbing or that kind of nightclub life kind of went down because people didn’t see the value of going to a nightclub.”
This was not true only of T&T, as countries around the world have been reporting massive drops in night club attendance with most pointing to the surging cost of living and the preference of Gen Z to invest in travel and experiences over a night out on the town.
However, Mohammed, and several other people in and around the industry, said T&T’s nightlife began to tail off long before that.
“Because we didn’t have much nightclubs up to a certain standard as we had previously like Zen and the 51 degrees and maybe even The Residence,” said Mohammed.
Vince Charles, who was the general manager at Zen at the height of its operations, said it would be difficult for the modern clubs to replicate the success local clubs saw in the early 2000s.
“I think that the success of Zen came from the time period that it was. Also the people involved, I’ll be honest with you, I suppose it comes with age that you will never be able to find that feeling again. A lot of persons who would have partied in that era. Although we are 15 years older, we just seem unable to find that anywhere else,” said Charles.
He felt Zen and other clubs did benefit from the socio-economic situation as well, with more people feeling economically secure and the economy buoyant.
“When it comes back to what caused the decline a large part of it would have been the economic situation. Those days the price of oil was high. A lot of foreigners were in (the country). A lot of people had disposable income and I think, after time, somethings just run their course,” said Charles.
The rise of boat rides and one-off committee parties was also seen as a potential reason for the drop-off in nightclubs in the mid-2010s.
“From Wednesday to Saturday night, we had clubs but then we had one-off events. But now you have boat rides frequently, you have private events frequently. Everybody is on committees so there’s a lot of activity generally in partying. When you consider everything, it is really a cycle,” said the operator of a recently opened bar and lounge on Ariapita Avenue, who asked not to be identified.
However, he noted his venue had seen successful with its version of club events, reinforcing the renewed demand nightclubbing.
But there is another factor which impacted the industry: Crime.
This, Charles felt was one of the main reasons the industry has struggled to pick back up.
“I would say to you 15 years later, crime is ridiculous and we’re in a downturn in the economy so I can’t see the resurrection happening to that scale,” said Charles.
However, the bar operator on the Avenue felt the crime situation also meant patrons were likely to favour locations with increased security, which some nightclubs can provide.
“The factors that would have influenced places people would go out to more now, would be one if it is their people are going that’s number one, and number two, safety and parking,’ said the bar owner, who explained his team searches patrons on entry every night.
“We hear it very often now that crime is a major factor in whether people even leave their homes and venture anywhere right now. That and the people they’re around with who are in the establishment, will also dictate how comfortable people feel and stay in there for any extended period of time as well,” he said.
Charles however did believe that the industry could be seeing a post-COVID surge, as young adults are now discovering the party scene.
“Think about it if you were 16-17 when COVID hit, and came out when you were 20, you never experienced a nightclub before. So there are many people for whom this is the newest thing and the greatest,” said Charles.
That hunger has seen several spots pop up such as La Tropical while some restaurants and lounges like Avala have become popular for the club-like atmosphere on certain nights.
Notably, Zen is also hosting a throwback party next week.
It is this hunger that the Vice team is hoping to capitalise on.
Mohammed explained the demand was clear to see.
“A lot of people say nightlife is dead, but if you drive on Ariapita Avenue on a weekend and you see the amount of people out there yearning to go out. People still want to come out.”
Mohammed said the owners of Vice were directly influenced by their friends who returned from University abroad and realised there was no true nightclub experience anymore.
“Some of them they came up from school and they wanted to go to a club, but there was nowhere to go, “ said Mohammed, “So they say well, maybe we should try and capitalise on the market now.”
The returning students, Mohammed said, were part of Vice’s initial target market
“Initially for these first two months, July, and August, we want to only open on Friday and Saturday. That’s the plan and we are seeing the demand. Just a simple thing like when we were doing (the private opening) that we invited you to. We had over 1,000 and more people who wanted to come to the club that night,” said Mohammed.
“So we’ve seen the initial anticipation of people wanting to come to a club. They want to dress up. People want to dress up again. Ladies want to dress up and come out. Guys want to come out and relax and have a good time and some music and stuff like that. So, we think that we’ve seen that”
The Vice team said they had paid attention to the economic concerns of the public and had tried to curate their services to include the wider public.
Mohammed said, “We try to cater for everybody. Because we know what the economy is, and we want people to come out and we know the same people wouldn’t come out every week.”
