Iconic Soho gay bar, G-A-Y Late, is set to close in December, it has been announced. Following a shock announcement from owner Jeremy Joseph, the club is confirmed to close its doors on Sunday 10th December, marking a great loss to Soho’s strong LGBTQ+ bar scene.
The popular club, which is located on Goslett Yard in Soho, currently operates until 4am daily, however, Joseph expressed numerous reasons that the venue could no longer operate in a post on social media just this weekend. Describing the situation as a ‘losing battle’, the post reads:
“It is with great sadness that I’ve made the decision to close G-A-Y Late on Sunday [10] December. I know this will come as a shock to a lot of people and many loyal customers will feel saddened by this news. But the last few years have been extremely difficult, and when you read this, you will hopefully understand that even profit-making venues are at risk of closure caused by external pressures.
Adding: “Coming back after Covid, I knew G-A-Y Late would be the biggest challenge & it has been continuously so difficult to carry on operating. We have been surrounded by building works; Crossrail finished & then the build works of the offices above started. We always knew it would be a challenge but with the works due to last another year, I just found it too disheartening to continue. It has become an impossibility to run a venue under a full restructure, honestly we tried, but it is a losing battle.
“In addition to the building works, with the development of the St Giles and Denmark Street area, there is now the extra challenge of Goslett Yard being more frequently used by the public for parking which has meant that our entrance, fire exit and queue are often blocked.
“There are also increased street safety issues. G-A-Y Late is a destination venue & that comes with its own street safety issues. As a result of sometimes being the only venue open late at night in the surrounding area it has led to customers & staff being attacked on their way to and from the venue. Despite so many attempts to get police to visit & support G-A-Y Late, there are no regular checks on the venue.”
Joseph confirmed that despite the sad closure, no staff will be affected by the decision, and they will be instead moved over to G-A-Y Bar and Heaven to continue their employment with the company.
The owner also confirmed that he won’t be giving up on the premise of G-A-Y Late, and plans to create a new version of it at sister site Heaven.
To accommodate disappointed customers and an expected influx of new faces at G-A-Y Bar and Heaven, the company has increased capacity at Heaven by opening up the space further, and is also in the midst of creating new wheelchair accessibility, too. G-A-Y Bar will now also open until 1am.
We’re sure G-A-Y Late will go out with a bang this December.
