Blue collar bar serves its last pint
It was the end of an era for the people who grew up spending nights at Palmerston North’s Cue Bar, as the nightclub closed it’s doors this week.
Cue was Martin Wong’s first bar and he was only 25 when he opened it in Berryman’s Lane nine years ago.
‘‘I learned how to do a good bar and how to run a night club. I grew up with a lot of the young people who came [to Cue].’’
A lot of his regulars have been there since the start and followed him to Taonui St when the bar moved in 2009.
The originals were all in their late 20s now, and many had started families and had blue collar jobs.
Wong said he kept in touch with all the regulars and loved to catch up and hear about their lives.
‘‘Cue was more than just a business for me. It was a group of friends – more of an extended family.’’
He was sad to have to close down Cue, but felt he needed to concentrate on his other bar, The Office.
Palmerston North was never an easy place to keep a bar going, but it had become even harder in recent years, Wong said.
‘‘Six or seven years ago, even Thursday was a big night for town, people were out for a bit of fun. But now it feels like a Sunday night.’’
People were pre-loading at home because of how expensive it was to drink in town, and with bars closing at 2am since April, revellers were spending even less at the pub, he said.
This weekend, Wong threw a smaller send-off party at the club to thank longterm regulars and staff, and get their help polishing off some of the leftover stock.
The last official trading day happened the weekend before.
Wong planned to keep a hold of the Taonui St premises and get stuck into renovating it.
‘‘I still have the passion and the contacts, so I’d love to try it again in half a year or so, with something a bit nicer.’’