Tillermans closes for good

NICOLE GOURLEY 624201420

THIS IS IT: Tillermans managers Carl and Rachael Goldsmith prepare the nightclub for what they hope will be a busy last night.

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An Invercargill bar closed its doors for good on Saturday morning after its owners said they were forced out of business.

Tillermans Nightclub is the second independently owned entertainment venue to close in as many weeks after One Blue Dog closed last month.

Tillermans co-director Matt Smellie said there were several reasons for his club closing, but the main ones were the economic downturn, increasing competition and the pressure placed on the club by the Invercargill City Council's 3am closing curfew.

It was becoming increasingly hard for nightclubs to survive in Invercargill, but the 3am closing was "the nail in the coffin" for Tillermans, Mr Smellie said.

Both One Blue Dog and Tillermans held a licence that allowed them to trade until 4.30am, before the curfew was put in place last year.

To avoid shutting down, both clubs decided to continue trading until this time as long as their licences allowed, but refusing to close at 3am attracted more police attention than before the curfew was put in place and made trading even more difficult, Mr Smellie said. "We have been under pressure by the council and police who want us to agree to come back to 3am, but for us that would be suicide," he said.

Tillermans manager Carl "Beefy" Goldsmith said he had mixed feelings about the club closing, as he had turned the club around from the "seedy" bar it used to be. However, in its transition between "bad" and "good" clients, it had been hit hard financially, he said.

With the Invercargill Licensing Trust's BarLuca opening as competition soon, Tillermans could not survive, Mr Goldsmith said.

Tillermans has been in operation for more than 20 years and under the control of Matt Smellie and his brother, Tim, for the past seven. Matt Smellie said he was hoping someone would buy the business to reopen it, but it was "basically curtains for the bar for the foreseeable future".

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