Second iconic Brighton LGBTQ+ venue announces closure in a week
R-Bar is shutting permanently from next month
Last updated 4 hours ago
An iconic Brighton LGBTQ+ venue has announced it's closing it's doors - just days after another one of the city's biggest confirmed it was shutting.
R-Bar, which is the sister venue to Club Revenge, shared that rising costs are forcing it to close permanently from next month.
It comes less than a week after the Charles Street Tap shared it would be closing due to it's lease ending.
In a social media post, the venue, which has been open for more than two decades, said it was "absolutely devastated":
"We are absolutely devastated to be losing another LGBTQ+ venue in Brighton at a time when safe queer spaces are more important than ever," the post reads.
It added that it hopes "this serves as a wake up call":
"Over the past few years, the hospitality industry has been pushed to breaking point.
"The cost of R-Bar's business rates, rent, energy, stock and almost every other operating cost has written dramatically.
"At the same time, the cost of living crisis has meant that many people simply have less spare cash to spend on nights out. "Despite doing everything we possibly could to adapt, those combined pressures mean that R-bar is unfortunately no longer financially sustainable."
It shared that it hoped Brighton and Hove City Council would "take this opportunity to take meaningful action to protect, promote and invest in the city's nightlife and LGBTQ+ venues."
It plans to pen an open letter with their thoughts and suggestions.
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “The announced closure of two LGBTQI+ venues in our city in a couple of days is heartbreaking and I know that this loss will be felt acutely by our LGBTQI+ residents and visitors.
“It is a stark reminder that we need to do all we can to protect our cultural venues and our LGBTQI+ venues in particular which are part of Brighton’s core identity.
“This is why last year our administration launched a radical new licensing policy to put trust back in our operators and provide the flexibility they need to adapt to changes in the economic climate.
"And why I wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury earlier this year to press for mixed grassroots music venues to benefit from the Government’s business rates cut.
“I will continue lobbying for this much-needed change to help safeguard other venues in the city.
“We will be launching a new nighttime economy strategy later this year and will work with our cultural venues to explore all avenues for their future protection.”