A late-night bar in Newport is set to close down and be replaced with a "21st-century" nightclub. Breeze, which has been based on Cambrian Road for more than a decade, will close for good on Saturday, September 10, it was confirmed on Thursday.
In a statement online, the club said it would be closing its doors after "many years as an integral part of the Newport city centre pub and nightclub scene". Breeze, which has gone under names such as Rat & Parrot in the past, was previously run by well-known Newport publican John Pisani who died last April.
It won't be empty for too long, however; it's set to be replaced by a new bar described as a "21st-century, Instagrammable" nightclub featuring regular in-house DJs, live music and a complete internal revamp which will see its main bar demolished.
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Speaking to WalesOnline, Breeze owner Jack Bannister said he had decided to close the venue due to "confusion" over its identity in recent years. "We just felt we had taken the Breeze brand as far as we could go," he said. "There's a bit of confusion from customers about what Breeze is - over the years it's been everything from food, daytime, sport, nightclub - it's had so many different concepts that I think people are confused about what it is if they're going out once a month. Obviously I've tried my best to change that but it doesn't seem to have had an effect on a wider scale."
Mr Bannister, who is the grandson of former Breeze owner John Pisani, said the club would be undergoing a major overhaul in the coming weeks to transform it into an "out-and-out nightclub" featuring DJ nights, live music, cocktail and wine menus and major investment in technology. He said the new venue, to be called Vibez, was aiming to launch at the end of October.
"There's still a lot of personal significance for me with my grandad having it and so it's a fresh start," he said. "We'll be demolishing the main bar in the centre and there will be a new bar relocated at the back where the kitchen area is. We'll have one long bar along the back wall and we're investing most of our money to upgrade the technology - the sound system, lighting rig, neon signs and stage screens so artists who are playing can put their video on while they're performing and things like that. There will be flower displays as well."
Mr Bannister said the revamped venue would also include soundproofed walls with two rooms of music. "Upstairs will be house and techno and downstairs will be more commercial and urban music. We'll do things like exotic cocktail menus and wine etc. It's going to cater to everything and be an out-and-out nightclub.
"It's something Newport hasn't got. We've got so many exciting plans and there is so much scope for what we want to do. We're investing in making it an Instagrammable, modern 21st century nightclub which is what people want these days. It's going to be very in touch with that, and we're really excited."
Earlier this week popular Newport tapas restaurant Monusk announced its sudden closure, after five years as a mainstay on Newport's food and drink scene. Meanwhile another popular former nightclub in the city, Zanzibar, is set to be demolished and replaced by 37 affordable flats. You can read more about that here.
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