Malcolm Vaughan

This summary focuses on the extensive interview with Malcolm Kennedy-Vaughan, a veteran in the Wellington LGBTQ+ hospitality scene. Recorded at Scotty and Mal’s Cocktail Bar, where they celebrated nearly 15 years in business, Malcolm discussed their imminent retirement disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview delved into the effects of COVID-19 on Wellington's nightlife, revealing a significant impact on the hospitality industry and the introduction of vaccine passes as an adaptive measure to keep bars operating safely.

Malcolm reminisced over the evolution of the client base at S&M’s bar, noting the cautious behavior of customers, especially regarding the Omicron variant, and observed a decrease in weekday trade. The bar prides itself on prioritizing the safety of the clientele and staff by ensuring the use of matching IDs with vaccine passes and has noticed a difference in crowd types since the pandemic.

Furthermore, Malcolm recounted the history of their journey in the bar industry, from opening Scotty and Mal’s Cocktail Bar in 2007 to the challenges faced along the way including ownership transitions and financial hurdles. They highlighted the importance of possessing a passion for the hospitality industry and staying true to their belief in the LGBTQ+ community despite the notion of gay bars becoming unnecessary. Their commitment has been to always provide a space for the queer community in Wellington.

The decor of S&M's is described as reminiscent of New York-style bars, with significant efforts invested in remodeling to create an inviting atmosphere. The bar's photo wall pays homage to the rich history and personnel of the establishment, serving as a memorial for past artists and acts to preserve LGBTQ+ heritage.

The operating schedule of S&M's shifted from six days a week to four due to the impacts of COVID-19. The clientele, previously diverse and international, is now predominantly local and more cautious due to the pandemic. The bar enjoyed significant attention from international theatre productions and offered a welcoming environment for both LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies.

Malcolm also reflected on previous ventures, such as Pound Nightclub and the Dome bar, emphasizing the changing nature of nightlife and hospitality, as well as the marked shift in demographics and attitudes within the queer community over the years. Despite these changes, Malcolm maintains a focus on providing opportunities and chances to people, just as chances were afforded to them throughout their career.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Malcolm Kennedy-Vaughan

1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, abel tasman hotel, alcohol, alcohol laws, alcohol license, alfies 1, alfies 2, annie (musical), aotearoa new zealand, art-a-rama, asia pacific outgames (2011), bamboo bar, barman, barrett's hotel, bars, beats, bill logan, bistro bar, bloomers review (alfies), bojangles, brett sheppard, capital magazine, carmen rupe, carmen's international coffee lounge, casper's bar and cafe, cees kooge, civic square / te ngākau, club bar (royal oak hotel), cottaging, covid-19 (coronavirus), covid-19 lockdown, covid-19 omicron variant, covid-19 vaccine pass, cuba street, dance, dancing, devotion (wellington), devotion festival (wellington), devotion parade, disco, dj, dog, dominion hotel, dorian society, dorian society (former site), drag, dragon boat, dyke, felicity frockaccino, fergus dick, fran wilde, geoff braybrooke, georgina beyer, graeme hunt, graffiti, hero (auckland), hiv / aids, homosexual law reform act (1986), hospitality, hotel st george, human rights act (1993), imerst, japan, japanese seaman, jig-a-jig, johnny croskery, knox church hall, korean seaman, lesley garrett, liquor license, malcolm kennedy-vaughan, mark blumskey, marriage amendment act (2012), merchant seaman, mexican cantina, michael moore, museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa, nightclub, norman jones, oaks brasserie, oaks coffee shop, oaks complex, oaks tavern, out! empire, pavilion bar, performance, phil smees, pink triangle (magazine), police, polly filla, poof, pound nightclub, public toilet, public toilet (taj mahal), railway tavern, ray meagher, rion mckenzie, royal oak hotel, rupaul's drag race (tv), sailor, scott kennedy, scotty and mal's cocktail bar, sex work, social distancing, sovereign bar, su pollard, tavern bar (royal oak hotel), the dome, the garden club, the prince hotel (st kilda, melbourne), the terrace coachman, titanic, toledo bar (royal oak hotel), tony katavich, tv3, tvnz (television new zealand), victoria / harris street public toilet, victoria spa sauna, vinegar hill / putai ngahere domain, w. somerset maugham, wellington

africa, arrest, art history, attitude, auckland, audience, australia, austria, belief, birthday, boat, bottom, boxes, bridges, building, bus, cafe, cannabis, change, cheese, children, chlamydia, chocolate, christmas, church, civil unions, clubs, coffee, coffin, colour, coming out, coming up, community, condoms, consensual sex, conversation, cooking, council, cuba, culture, data, difference, dixon street, drag queen, dykes on bikes, entertainment, environment, equality, events, face, family, fear, filming, flatting, flying, friends, fun, future, gaming, gay, god, grave, heterosexual, history, hit, hole in the wall, holidays, homosexual, homosexual law reform, hotel, human rights, individual, insurance, israel, jazz, job, knowledge, law, leather, lesbian, lgbt, library, lifestyle, london, love, makeup, marching boys, marriage, marriage equality, mayor, media, meetings, melbourne, music, navy, news, night porter, omnisexual, opportunity, organising, other, over the rainbow, pacific, parade, paris, passion, passport, people, persecution, piano, pink dollar, pool, power, prayer, prince, profile, public bar, punishment, queen, queer, race, rainbow, rally, rent, respect, review, running, sad, saunas, school, scotland, sea, security, sex, sexuality, social, soul, south africa, space, spain, stole, straight, strength, struggle, stuff, surgery, sydney, the edge, the other side, time, top, touch, tough, traffic light, truth, understanding, unions, venues, victoria street, volunteer, vote, wales, walking, women, work, writing