Making sure that the building work is on course for the grand opening on Saturday November 30 are venue manager Cathal Doyle (right) and Brendan McCusker (left), Group Manager for 1 OAK Leisure Limited which owns Rubys and TIME Bar + Venue in Cookstown.
EXCLUSIVE: WORK is nearing completion on a new bar and nightclub venue in Strabane that is set to create up to 60 new jobs and attract more visitors to the region.
In a £1.5 million investment project, business man Patrick Scullion has acquired what was formerly known as Katy Daly’s in Railway Street and is currently in the process of creating a new 20,000sqft ‘super venue’ for Strabane and its neighbouring areas.
The opening of Rubys Bar + Nightclub will create up to 60 new full time and part time jobs which is welcome news for the area following a recent report commissioned by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) which identified Strabane as one of the council areas which will be hardest hit by the government’s proposed welfare reform.
Rubys Nightclub, which officially open its doors on Saturday November 30, will contain two floors with a different music offering on each level and an extensive luxurious beer garden.
The Parisian-themed Rubys Bar will open seven days per week from Saturday December 14 and will act as a live music venue that can accommodate up to 500 people for concerts and shows, or a function area that can cater for approximately 100 people for food and beverages. In total, the new super venue will host no fewer than NINE separate bars as well as the beer garden.
New owner Patrick Scullion, who comes from a construction background, made a huge impact on the Northern Ireland social scene last year when he opened TIME BAR + VENUE in Cookstown which has fast become one of the province’s most popular nightclubs, attracting customers from all over the province. Mr Scullion hopes that Rubys will replicate the success of its sister venue.
“In its heyday, Katy Daly’s was a thriving entertainment complex and one of the top destination venues in the north west of the province,” said Mr Scullion.
“We hope to resurrect that business with a new state of the art super venue which will immediately create up to 60 full and part time jobs with the majority of staff coming from the Strabane area. Rubys Bar and Nightclub will operate on the same business model which has seen TIME in Cookstown surpass all of our expectations but with the added benefit of a function room which can cater for private functions or act as a live music venue for local and national bands.”
The combined capacity for the new venue entertainment complex will top 1500 people and Mr Scullion hopes to attract customers from all over the North including neighbouring Donegal.
“I’m a firm believer that if the product is good enough, then people will come and without doubt, what Rubys has to offer will rival anything else in the province and will give the people of Strabane a venue that they are truly proud to be associated with,” concluded Mr Scullion.
Rubys Nightclub will operate a strictly over 18 policy on Friday nights and over 21’s on Saturday nights. A state-of-the-art Funktion One sound system and high-tech lighting system with LED backdrop screens will give top DJs from Ireland and abroad the perfect platform to showcase their talents.
According to Patrick Scullion, a host of top national and international DJs have already been lined up for 2014, details of which will be released before the end of the year.
Weekly live music will be a feature of Rubys Bar with some of Ireland’s top bands already being pencilled in over the next 12months.
Sister venue TIME has also developed an excellent reputation for its food offering which is something Rubys will aim to match with a Gastro Food restaurant opening in late January.
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