The new Ivy logo An opening date is looming for the new edition of gay bar and cabaret nightclub Ivy in Wellington. With the former Dixon St site which housed Club Ivy, Terrace Bar and Garden Club now home to Calendar Girls, work is chugging along on the new Ivy in the old James Smith department store basement on Lower Cuba St. Co-owner Greig Wilson says things are "full steam ahead", with the main building consent finally issued last week. “It’s a major build with several hundred thousand dollars being spent on this project. We will be confirming an opening date once know for sure,” he says. “As we know projects always get held up with various challenges. All those challenges bring delays. In saying that if it was not hard to do it probably would not be worthwhile doing.” Ivy will have a 1930s feel, with a focus on entertainment. During the revamp Wilson says they have found a lot of relics in the basement of the James Smith building, which was built in 1936. “We have incorporated these in the spaces,” he says. “The space has some fab old brick walls from the old boiler room and these will make great feature walls.” Wilson says there are a number of zones: a main bar area, a dance floor area, a quieter seated area with table service and even a “secret bar” out the back.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 7th December 2012 - 9:34am