The end of an era

Business model led to demise of nightclub

Much was said over the Labour Day weekend about the abrupt closure of The Mule Nightclub in Penticton The end of an era. A place where we went for years. Losing a big part of Penticton’s history.

Everybody has a soft spot in their heart for nostalgia. The reality is the nightclub has gone the way of the drive-in movie theatre (except in Enderby).

It’s easy to blame city council and community leaders for not attracting enough young people to town.

The death of the nightclub is due mostly to the business model.

An establishment such as The Mule made its money for several hours in the late evening and early morning, a few nights a week. You have to collect a ton of cover charges (which patrons hate) and sell a lot of drinks to keep the lights on.

In the glory days of the late 1970s — thanks to disco — the model did work because demographics were younger. Canada has an aging population and many of our tourists prefer cheap winter jaunts to Mexico than spending their money in Canada during the summer months. Selling drinks is now harder to do. Since the impaired driving laws became stricter in 2010, people are drinking less in the clubs ... and that’s a good thing. Drunk driving fatalities in B.C. are down by more than 50 per cent. Statistically, people under the age of 30 are among the most responsible when it comes to not drinking and driving.

Binge drinking is another issue. Young people are notoriously cheap — mostly because they have to be — and will get bombed at home before going out, sober up to make it past the doorman, and nurse one drink once they get inside the club.

The Mule now joins a list of establishments that have come and gone — Tiffany’s, Brass Rail, Nite Moves and Slack Alice’s. It’s sad to see it go. It was also inevitable.

— James Miller Valley Editor