Popular Hamilton nightclub Bar101 closing

Hamilton's Bar101 will close its doors on September 15. Photo / File

A Hamilton bar which has been a staple in the city's nightlife is closing its doors on September 15.

For 10 years, Hamilton's Bar101 has been the starting point for tertiary students when venturing out for late-night entertainment.

It opened its doors in 2008 with packed lines stretching down Victoria Street, such was its popularity,but now owner John Lawrenson has called it a day as Victoria Street will soon house the Waikato Regional Theatre.

The theatre was allocated $25 million in funding by the Hamilton City Council as part of its 10-year plan, and will be located on the site of the old Hamilton Hotel, currently where Bar101 is.

"With the Regional Theatre and the hotel it has kind of left a cloud of uncertainty over all of those businesses," Mr Lawrenson said.

"We looked at Bar101 and said we don't really want to spend a whole lot of money in here, and then maybe a year from now get told by the owners of the building that they don't want a nightclub there."

As part of the Waikato Regional Theatre proposal, early plans for a hotel and an arts museum to be attached to the building have also been discussed.

Mr Lawrenson said there was a demolition clause on the lease of Bar101, but that had expired.

"We and the owners came to an arrangement over the lease which we both agreed with, and it gives them a nice empty canvas to design what is going into that building."

Mr Lawrenson said that since the announcement of the closure, there has been an outpouring of sentiment from the community.

"There has been a load of nostalgia over the closing so we are definitely looking at the potential of moving it to one of our other empty sites.

"I know by the time you were 20 years old Bar101 was pretty lame, but it was meant for those 18 year olds going to their first bar," he said.

"It did exactly it was supposed to do."

He said that he is interested in bringing it back at some point, and mentioned the previous site of The Hood as a possible location.

"It just seemed like a good time to get out of it."

"We have two empty sites — including The Hood — on the other side of Victoria Street and with both of them we have concepts we want to put into those sites, and Bar101 is an option."

Mr Lawrenson said that he hopes the bar has made many memories for students in Hamilton.

"Back when there was Bebo, someone even set up a Bebo page for us."

"We had awesome things such as the toga march and the pirate party where you had hundreds of people coming to town as Captain Jack Sparrow," he said.

"We will look back on it with fondness."