Shotgun Betty's owner opens up about closure

The closure of Shotgun Betty's is symptomatic of a struggling Whangarei hospitality scene, its owner Trevor James says. Photo / File

Youth unemployment and new drink-driving laws are part of the reason behind the closure of Northland's largest nightclub, says its owner.

Shotgun Betty's on Whangarei's Vine St closed its doors on Tuesday last week after going into receivership, with owner Trevor James putting the business's failure down to "a combination of things".

Having relocated from Christchurch in 2013, Mr James was yet to be paid his insurance from the earthquake-related closure of the Mad Cow nightclub he owned previously. The lowering of the drink-drive limit also meant people "don't go out and drink the way they used to".

Mr James said Whangarei had a completely different scene to the one he was accustomed to in Christchurch.

"With the youth of Whangarei, a lot of them don't have jobs and don't have the money to go out," he said.

Mr James said while the club started strongly, patron numbers had dwindled since it opened just over two years ago. Some Friday nights were so quiet only 30 people would come through the doors.

"You need people to come out when you put events on, so you can pay for those events... We never have got anywhere near capacity," he said of the 1893sq m site.

Police opposed the re-licensing of Shotgun Betty's in June last year, after incidents of unruly behaviour including an April brawl that kept officers busy for more than two hours. Mr James said at the time this was an unusual event and that there was other disorderly behaviour elsewhere in Whangarei that night.

"We started off okay [in 2013]. There was just situations that happened along the way. The restaurant was good and people enjoyed our meals."

Mr James said he did not know whether Whangarei District Council's One Way Door policy, which prevented patrons moving between bars between 1am and 3am closing, had impacted his business.

Phil Sentch, owner Rynoz Bar & Grill, said prior to the policy some people would leave his bar at about 2am to head to Shotgun Betty's for "a change of scene". However, he was yet to notice the impact of one of his major competitors closing.

"Unfortunately the fewer places there are in town the less reason there is for people to come out. It could go either way on any given weekend, [Shotgun's closing] could pick other bars up a little bit or it could see less people out."