Sorry to get the hopes of Brooklyn electronic music fans up: It seems that a chapter of the esteemed Sankeys nightclub chain in the borough was short-lived. Officials from the Sankeys company released a statement Thursday announcing that the Brooklyn chapter would be closing after a mere three weeks of operation. And no, that's not typical: Even if only a few people showed up on opening night, you can normally expect a venue to operate for at least a few months before investors kill the idea. So what's up?
Sankeys owner David Vincent that the franchisees were incompetent, according to Resident Advisor. Simple as that.
"We will no longer be involved with the former venue, SRB. Sankeys Manhattan failed because our franchise partners were unprofessional on an operational, promotional and musical level and we as franchisors were inexperienced and naive in our initial approach. We gave far too much control and trust to people we thought were up to the job who clearly were not," he said. "In September we were eventually persuaded by our franchisee and very much against our own better judgement, to help with their new venue in Brooklyn."
Against their better judgement is right. Although there was clearly something amiss with the Brooklyn operators, this is the second Sankeys venue to fail in the New York City market within the last two years, as Vincent alludes to.
Still, the failures accused by Vincent don't make anyone look good. He suggests that when Sankeys showed up to get the project off the ground, they were told that no funds remained for promotions (a death wish for a new nightclub) and that rather than three months, the club planned on opening in three weeks. Sankeys cut the cord quickly following the opening.
Although its attempts in New York have fallen flat, Sankeys is doing alright in Europe, where its original Manchester Location is going strong as well as its Ibiza venue. The establishment will continue with its 20th anniversary celebrations this year.
