Less than a year after its much anticipated reopening, Buffalo Lounge is closing its doors - for the second time around. After being taken over by Alex Taylor - who also heads up Pennyroyal cocktail bar in Cardiff's city centre - last summer, the bar had a reinvention and reincarnation with this Buffalo paying homage to the one which closed in 2019 - read more on that here - much to the excitement of devout fans of the former music venue.
With club nights, drinks deals and a beer garden, it made for the perfect place for students and professionals alike to wind down. Now, sadly, alongside its restaurant, Koi, which closed in January 2023, after six months of being open, Buffalo's owner is handing the keys back to the building's landlord as a result of a lack of customers and the cost of living crisis.
Taking to Instagram, the bar, located at 11 Windsor Place, told its followers the sad news with a picture of the animal after which it is named. The caption read: "BYE-FFALO. Well, we had a go. Unfortunately, despite the huge enthusiasm when we announced the reopen, and some killer nights in the venue, it just hasn't translated into a consistent footfall.
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"Hospitality is facing some rough times at the moment, but to be honest, even if that weren't the case, we just haven't seen enough of you often enough- and with the cost of living crisis, we get it. We will be returning the keys to the landlord next week.
"So, watch this space for what's on this week as we run down the last days of Buffalo, for good this time as the landlords will understandably be converting the building. We're gutted, but as a management team we've tried everything we could. See you over the next few days for a beer in the garden, or a dance upstairs."
Fans of the bar rushed to the comments section of the post to voice their sadness. One user wrote: "Sorry guys, well done for giving it a go!"
Another said: "So sad to see it go, but we'll give the place a good send off!" while user @brynachmusic commented: "Was so happy to have buffalo back. Sad to see it go. Another classic Cardiff venue bites the dust."
"Absolutely devastating news. Thanks for working so hard to try and make it work. It really is tough times in the nightlife industry atm," added a fourth fan.
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