...so much for the 'refurb'

Leicester’s Just The Tonic comedy club HAS shut its doors for good, despite owner Darrell Martin insisting just days ago that he was shutting for a brief ‘refurb’.

On Saturday he told Chortle that he was aiming to reopen at the end of March. Yet today the club’s official Facebook page confirmed that the venue had closed down after two years.

Martin took over the venue in 2012 after the Highlight chain vacated the club, and three others across the UK.

In reply to a comedy fan’s comment on Twitter, the club replied this morning: ‘Unfortunately there wasn't enough demand to sustain it all year round! It was great to have the time we did!’

In a statement, Martin said: ‘The reason for it closing is that, despite having very successful shows on a Friday and Saturday night, the overheads of a venue demand more than that. Despite our efforts at midweek shows, and after-show parties, we just couldn’t get the folks of Leicester to come along.

‘We are in talks continue our shows in Leicester in another venue, but do not want to say any more than that as yet.

‘We would like to thank all the people that came to our shows in the two years we were there. We would like to thank the staff for what they did to contribute to a great club, we would like to thank all the performers that appeared (except one) and to all the people at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival.

‘Personally, it is sad to see it go. I enjoyed running, booking and compering it. The room was amazing, and we received a lot of acclaim from the comedians that played it.’

Comic Tony Jameson tweeted that the closure was sad news, adding: ‘[It] was always a fun gig with lovely staff.’

In August last year, Martin also announced that he was opening a club in Birmingham... but less than a month later admitted it was on hold ‘indefinitely’. And last weekend confirmed that the plans had been dropped completely.

A couple of customers at the weekend complained that they arrived at the club to find it closed, despite having advance tickets, which the venue blamed on an administrative error.

Published: 13 Mar 2014