"Sometimes change is needed. Sometimes change is good,” said new co-owner Derek Forsyth, who officially took possessions of the property on Monday from former owner Murray Nicholson.
“We bought the land, the buildings, the businesses everything,” he said, regarding Keggers Alehouse on the downstairs floor and the Chevys bar and restaurant and Rustlers Cabaret upstairs.
Forsyth’s partner in the venture is Damian Byrne of Halifax, with whom he is also a 50 per cent owner of the Split Crow and Ryan Duffy’s establishments in Truro.
The pair also recently purchased the Lamp Cabin in Springhill, which they have converted to another Split Crow.
Regarding the Warehouse Bars group, however, Forsyth said Keggers will essentially remain the same, except for a change to the menu that will begin in the near future.
The main changes are planned to Chevys and Rustlers, which will no longer exist after an extensive renovation process is complete.
“We’re going to keep the Keggers name. The whole upstairs is going to be cleaned up, renovated and it will be rebranded (to be possibly called, the Loft),” he said. “It is going to be a nightclub.”
And with that will come “big-name entertainment,” to Truro.
“Everybody will know who they are ... It’s going to be exciting,” Forsysth said. “Maybe people will have more fun than they had before.”
Given the “ton of buying power” the two partners now enjoy, he said, the new purchases, while offering different menus, will enable them to offer cross promotions between all of their Truro establishments, including use of a V.I.P. card that is in the works.
“It’s all timing, it really is,” he said, of the move to purchase. “Split Crow Truro is doing better than what we thought it was going to be. Hence the reason why we bought the Lamp Cabin in Springhill.”
Given that the upstairs bars are only open from Thursdays through to Saturday’s, renovations will be done in increments during the down times over about a six-month period.
For the time being, however, patrons of all locations can still enjoy the same atmosphere they have been accustomed to.
The Warehouse Bars in all consist of about 14,000 square feet of useable space and provide employment to about 15 people.
I'm confused? How is it a bad idea to purchase the largest bar in a town?