Zouk confirms move to Clarke Quay, last party at Jiak
Kim Street in May 2016
Iconic homegrown nightclub Zouk has finally secured a new home -
Clarke Quay.
The 24-year-old nightspot will bid farewell to its Jiak Kim
Street home in May 2016. It hopes to start operations at Clarke
Quay by June 2016 at the earliest, or September at the latest.
It will take over a 30,000 sqft space that was formerly occupied
by public-listed company LifeBrandz, after the beleagured group was
forced to close all its food and beverage establishments.
These outlets had included nightclub Fenix Room, live music
venue Aquanova and gourmet hot dog eatery HopDog.
The announcement by the nightclub on June 28 puts an end to
months of speculation about where it would move to when its lease
expires at the end of the year.
Zouk had been given until the end of June to secure an
alternative location, failing which it would have to vacate the
premises when its lease expires in December 2015.
Founder Lincoln Cheng, 67, said he is happy to have found a new
home, "where it will continue its legacy for the next
generation".
He added: "The move to a new venue was inevitable, a foregone
conclusion, so when the space at Clarke Quay became available, we
set out immediately to move to the new venue, to make our new home
at the earliest opportunity."
In choosing the location, he said he had considered every
potential venue "very carefully", from location and accessibility
to the cost of building it up.
He will be investing $10 million to build the new home in Clarke
Quay.
Zouk was founded in 1991, when he converted a row of three
derelict warehouses along the Singapore River into Singapore's
first commercial dance club that brought electronic music to the
forefront.
Over the years, the 40,000 sqft club has brought in some of the
best international music acts in the world, including Icelandic
singer-songwriter Bjork and top-ranking DJs such as Paul Van Dyk,
Tiesto, Hardwell and David Guetta.
The club has also outlasted fierce competition in Singapore's
nightlife, including brand-name nightspots such as Ministry of
Sound and Cafe Del Mar.
Now that it has secured a new location, Zouk will also be able
to continue its annual outdoor ravefest, ZoukOut.
Held at Sentosa's Siloso Beach each year, the two-day event
attracts tens of thousands of dance music fans partying from dusk
till dawn. This year's ZoukOut will be held on Dec 11 and 12.
ST