Iconic bar to CLOSE after 50 years as owner slams ‘lost vibrancy’ & says he’s faced ‘constant uphill battle’
Iconic bar to CLOSE after 50 years as owner slams ‘lost vibrancy’ & says he’s faced ‘constant uphill battle’
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AN ICONIC bar is set to close after 50 years with the owner blasting "lost vibrancy" and licensing restrictions ruining the area. Jeremy Joseph, owner of G-A-Y Bar, in Soho, London, has announced there is no point trying to keep the venue open. The disgruntled owner said that he had faced a "constant uphill battle" for the venue and has now put it up for sale.
![[G-A-Y bar in London's Soho.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/paywtb-g-a-y-bar-966817347.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He criticised Westminster City Council and the Met Police as well as local residents' groups as being too resistant to measures, such as late licences, which he said would benefit the nightlife industry. The bar came under financial risk after Heaven Nightclub, which is also owned by Jeremy, was forced to close temporarily after a bouncer allegedly raped a customer.
![[A large crowd of people dancing in a nightclub.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000966817350.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Although Heaven has now reopened under strict conditions, Jeremy said the area’s strict licensing and Nimby residents makes keeping G-A-Y Bar open too hard. He added the closure of Heaven while its licence was under review had put G-A-Y Bar "at risk financially".
"Even now after Heaven's reopening, the damage financially and mentally has been irreparable," he said. Jeremy added: "I firmly believe Soho has lost its vibrancy. "It’s a constant up hill battle and another fight in the face of a cost of living crisis which has negatively impacted nearly all of the hospitality sector.
"It doesn't feel like anyone with power cares about hospitality and it definitely doesn't feel like they care about LGBT venues.". It is not the first venue Jeremy has been forced to close – G-A-Y Late closed in November 2023 after keeping it open became a "losing battle".
