The Zanzibar Club in Liverpool set to reopen

The Zanzibar Club in Liverpool is reopening this weekend – 15 months after it was announced it was closing for good due to the “climate of uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.

The 300-capacity venue has welcomed acts such as Noel Gallagher, The Coral, The Zutons, Miles Kane, The Libertines and The 1975, but operators made the “heartbreaking decision” to close it down permanently in August 2020.

“The Zanzibar Club has been a true survivor over the past 30 years, but with the current climate of uncertainty and the probability of remaining closed for a year, we have had to make the heartbreaking decision to permanently close our venue,” said director Scott Burgess at the time.

“With very limited time left on our lease and too many years of wear and tear on our building structure puts us in a financially unattainable position to reopen.”

Not only do we want to restore it to its former glory, we want to ensure it has a bright and fruitful future

However, the building is now being given a new lease of life under new management after being taken over by Liverpool-based bar and nightclub operator Pub Invest Group.

“As a business which exists to create great entertainment venues in our home city, it was really important to us to make sure that The Zanzibar Club is back in business,” Francesca Lambrou, general manager of The Zanzibar, tells the Liverpool Echo. “Not only do we want to restore it to its former glory, we want to ensure it has a bright and fruitful future.”

The club will officially reopen tomorrow (6 November) with the unveiling of a plaque to the late former Zanzibar manager Tony Butler, who died in 2018, followed by a night of live music.

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