SIMPLY BLUE NIGHTCLUB EVICTED

The groundbreaking Simply Blue nightclub, focusing on gay people of colour, located in Braamfontein, Joburg, has closed - at least for the foreseeable future.

Owner Jerome Camp told Mambaonline that the club had been served with an eviction notice by the landlord due to developments in the area relating to the 2010 World Cup and a general revamping of the Orchidea Hotel in which the venue is situated.

"I don't stand in the way of progress, but I am sad that I have to leave at short notice," said Camp, adding "But sometimes these things happen for a reason. It may well be a blessing in disguise".

The club was briefly closed for a few weeks in May last year to also accommodate developments in the area, but this time it will cease to operate from the hotel for good.

Camp explained that he would be taking time to review his options, but could not confirm if and when the club will re-open in a new venue. "Watch this space," was all he was prepared to say.

Simply Blue opened its doors in the Heartlands area of Braamfontein in 2003, breaking new ground as one of the first black-owned gay clubs in the city. Three years later it moved to the Orchidea Hotel.