Just last year, Legends Cue and Sports Club, a notorious nightspot in Ringwood, Hampshire, England was stripped of its license. This resulted in them closing down and being replaced by new owners. After going through a rough time just to secure a licence, Shelly Butcher and Sean Bartlett finally managed to attain it to open the Metro Lounge and Piano Bar in the Market Place.
The former members’ club had to close its door after their license was revoked due to incidents of fighting, threatening behaviour and swearing near their premises. After everything the club had gone through, the new owners decided that it was time for a transformation in order to have a new, clean image. After the £40,000 makeover, a much more sophisticated venue was created. The bar now complete with a baby grand piano, for over 25s. With the approval of their temporary events licence from the district council, it also means that the bar can now operate daily between 11am and 11.30pm, along with an extension on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
However, there are conditions that comes along with the license too. Firstly, there has to be two doorman each night until January 2. Secondly, the CCTV has to be installed. “I am excited and petrified at the same time. We have worked very hard and fought tooth and nail to secure our licence and to reopen. Now we are almost there. It has been difficult to prove we are something very different, but we are almost there. We have met all our neighbours and they have come and had a look to see what we are doing here and they are pleased that we are opening something sophisticated,” stated Shelly, a former flight attendant.
The idea came to the couple when they were on holidays in the Marrakech, Morocco. “We were in a piano bar in Marrakech. We thought something like this in Ringwood would be wonderful. We have wonderful lighting and the space is candlelit with large, squashy sofas. There is a metropolitan feel to the space, with New York style wallpaper and an architectural skyline,” Shelly explained. To find out more about the story, you can do so here.
This concept of a piano bar has yet to arrive in Singapore, but we are quite certain that it eventually will some day. In the meantime, one can start by picking up the techniques. Take a look at what Awesome Piano has to offer. We are sure that there is a suitable class for everyone!