A LOCAL nightclub owner has quashed ongoing rumours that the venue is set to close upon its sale.
Martin Sayers confirmed that Vittoria nightclub and Quayside restaurant have been sold to new owners.
The sale – completed last month – saw David Parish and David Voisin, the current owners of Cheffins in Beaumont and Colmar on King Street, take over both Liberty Wharf venues.
Mr Sayers told the JEP that though the business had changed hands, there was no truth to the rumours that both venues would close and that it would instead be “business as usual” going forward.
Social media rumours had been circulating with Islanders speculating on what will become of Vittoria – one of the few nightclubs Jersey has left – and high-end bistro Quayside, with many locals fearing another late-night venue would shut its doors under any new ownership.
However, Mr Sayers refuted those claims and said plans were to keep both businesses running in their current form. “Nothing has closed, I’ve sold the business to David Voisin and David Parish, who own Colmar and Cheffins and they are not planning on any major changes to the business at all,” Mr Sayers said. “It’s very important to me that [the business] stays the same. There’s been some odd rumours going around but there are no major changes happening down at Vittoria and or Quayside.”
Mr Sayers also confirmed that all current staff at both venues were aware of the sale of the business.
Explaining his reasons for selling up, Mr Sayers explained that the “time was right” to step away from Jersey’s night-time hospitality industry, which he has been part of since the late 1980s.
“I’m of retirement age now and I just felt I ought to retire from the business, hang up my boots and spend a bit of me-time for once.”
