Liverpool city centre bar Soultrain has closed just a week after moving to a new venue on Seel Street. The over-25s bar is now “closed for good,” although there is hope it will reopen at another venue in the future.
Reasons for closure
In an announcement posted to Facebook on Sunday, October 4, a Soultrain spokesperson explained the decision. The new Soultrain bar had to share a toilet with the bar upstairs, meaning there was no separation between the two venues and anybody could go where they wanted.
The spokesperson said the upstairs bar is a normal bar for 18-year-olds and upwards, and the music is also too heavy for the Soultrain audience. As a result, younger people came down to the Soultrain club throughout the night, probably thinking it was just another room, while Soultrain customers went up to the bar, also thinking it was part of Soultrain, but with loads of younger people and heavy music.
Reputation at risk
“We built our reputation on over-25s and great old skool music. If we had stayed in that club within a few months, our Soultrain reputation, which we have been building for over seven years, would have been wiped out, and it’s not the club's fault, it’s just the layout wasn’t right for us,” the spokesperson said.
They added that people would be saying the music had gone terrible, not realising they were in a different bar upstairs, and also saying it was full of kids because there was no separation between the upstairs bar and the downstairs Soultrain bar. The younger ones would wander into Soultrain and jump all over the place, making the Soultrain audience uncomfortable.
The spokesperson said the problems had begun on Soultrain's opening night last week, and that he had asked about having a men's toilet placed downstairs in order to separate the over-25s bar from the rest of the venue. However, they added: “We couldn’t find a solution and it got worse, we had kids coming in, we had our audience going up to the other upstairs bar and it was just not working.”
Closing announcement and future plans
“And last night was packed too and the atmosphere was boss, but with kids coming in and out and our Soultrain audience going up an down we had to make a decision, and we did. I picked up the mic after midnight and said we are closing Soultrain down as of now and I basically told them what I've just told you,” the spokesperson said.
They said Soultrain was always about a great night out for grown ups and great old skool music, and staying in that venue would have damaged the business. “I could have stayed for money, but I built Soultrain for all of us who have nowhere to go, and money can’t buy what we have. Soultrain brought back the good times..and anyway it was never about money and it never will be.”
The spokesperson concluded: “So Soultrain Seel Street is now closed for good. We will be looking for a new venue to relaunch it so bear with us. PS - if any bars, clubs out there are quiet on a Saturday night and you want a huge audience of growns who drink like fish and have manners and respect, message us and we can relocate Soultrain. Thanks for understanding but we will be back bigger, badder and better.”
In a follow-up announcement, the spokesperson said the bar had received five offers from venues looking to become the new home of Soultrain, with one of them a major venue. While Soultrain Seel Street has temporarily ceased operations, Soultrain Waterloo on South Road will continue this Friday and Saturday, October 9 and 10, as usual. Its Halloween party, at Penny Lane Wine Bar on October 30, will also go ahead as planned.
