Former pub and nightclub could become jazz venue
BBCA former pub and nightclub in Derby could be turned into a jazz club.
The Friary, in Friar Gate, stopped trading in March and has since been boarded up - but there has been application to Derby City Council for an alcohol and live music licence for the building.
George Henshaw, agent for the company Hospitality and Events Limited, said that the plan was to open a new jazz bar later this year - subject to licensing and planning approval.
The building, which dates back to 1730 and is Grade II-listed, was home to the Friary pub and the nightclub Popworld, and before that the Scream nightclub.
The Friary was run by the Stonegate Group, which released a statement that thanked its guests for their support over the years, "as well as our teams for their hard work and commitment".
Daniel Taylor, 37, a bar worker at the Greyhound pub, also on Friar Gate, said that a jazz club would be good for that part of the city.
"I think nowadays with the struggle to get people out drinking, you need to do something different," Taylor said.
"There are not strictly any jazz clubs in Derby, so I think that it is a decent idea."
Taylor said many people in Derby would miss the Friary because they would have good memories of nights out there.
"I know Scream, Popworld and the Friary have always been incredibly popular, even going back five years before Covid, there were queues out of the door to get into Popworld all night long," he added.
"I know all my friends who grew up in Derby will recognise the Friary as one of the main places where they used to go."
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