THE closure of a popular nightclub and comedy club will be “the end of an era”.
Both Wahoo and The Glee Club in Hythe Bridge Street will close at the end of the year, it has been announced.
Last July, a multi-million-pound deal was struck between Nuffield College and Christ Church to transform the area of Frideswide Square.
The land includes the buildings between Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street, stretching from the Royal Oxford Hotel to Castle Mill Stream and those opposite the Said Business School.
But the owners of the establishments are determined to find new homes to keep the city’s nightlife booming.
Christian Arden, who has owned Wahoo since 2010, said he had picked the space up “from the ashes of a financial crisis” and the closure was a “real shame”.
He said: “I think we have given a significant contribution to Oxford and Oxford’s nightlife.
“We would like to stay but I think Nuffield College has made up its mind with Said Business School.
“It is very sad and I think Oxford needs a bit of everything in the city.”
Mr Arden said the nightclub would host a string of “amazing” events leading up to the closure and that it was business as usual.
He added: “I am currently looking at other spaces to perhaps do more of a food and intimate venue.”
The Glee Comedy Club next door has also confirmed it will be closing at the end of the year but said it is determined to find a new home in the city.
Mark Tughan, managing director, said he does not want to “be lost from the city”. He said: “I can confirm we will be leaving our current premises, which is a real shame because it was the perfect venue for us.
“We were given a six-month notice from the college and it is up to them to serve that notice. We do not want to leave but at the moment I’m on the hunt for a new venue.
“The trouble is a lot of the spaces are a lot smaller than what we have now.”
Both venues have assured it will be business as usual until the closure at the end of the year. Nuffield College said it was not able to comment.
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