Development blight in Croydon town centre has claimed another victim, with the Bad Apple night club set to close its doors for a final time on New Year’s Day.
The Bad Apple’s New Year’s Eve party will be its last
It was late on Boxing Day that the owners of the Park Street club made the announcement that their New Year’s Eve party on Monday will be the venue’s last event.
They said that the closure was because the building has been sold.
Bad Apple, which opened in 2012 in its current form offering music and dance through to 4am most nights, is at least the fifth night club in and around Croydon town centre to have closed in the last four years, following the demise of the nearby Black Sheep, Yates, Bar Txt and Tiger Tiger.
Bad Apple’s owners have identified the £500million redevelopment of St George’s Walk, across the road from the bar, as one of the reasons for the decision to close.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that NYE2018 will be our last night of trading,” the Facebook post said.
When Bad Apple first opened, it offered Croydon clubbers something different
“As some of you may have been aware, the building has been up for sale for a while and a buyer has now been found.
“We want to thank you for all your support over the years. We’ve had lots of laughs, made lots of awesome memories and met new friends! But most importantly it provided us with a place to be ourselves… Bad Apple was what we made it.
“We’d love to see as many of your beautiful faces as possible for our last few events!
“See you all later, party hard and stay classy Croydon.”
The owner of Bad Apple is Paul Bossick, who had previously operated the Black Sheep bar, which closed in 2013 to make way for a Polish supermarket beneath a block of “executive apartments”.
Bossick told a Canary Wharf-based website, “The closure is sad because with the Black Sheep Bar and the Bad Apple we have continued to operate a nightclub in Croydon for 25 years.
“I think as the changes happen to the town then more venues will come along and open. People will still be entertained, will be able to eat and drink out, but it just won’t be the old-fashioned nightclubs.”
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I am part of club soda, a nightclub for people with a disability .
It is sad to know the bad apple closing down. We will have to find new venue.