New Kamloops nightclub's first week open a bit of a scramble
A new nightclub opened in downtown Kamloops almost a week ago, drawing in crowds of party goers that lined up down the block the first night, Sept. 9.
Co-owner David Pup Johnston is still scrambling to complete renovations and update the interior design of Nightshift on Fifth.
“We have been incredibly busy and haven’t time to make all of the changes and updates yet,” he said. “Opening after just one month has to be a record somewhere.”
While Johnston has decades of experience in owning nightclubs — he also owns the Blue Grotto on Victoria Street — this new venue is much bigger and more updates are necessary than what he had anticipated when he and his partner Sherri Lynn King took over ownership on Aug. 1.
Johnston has been working tirelessly on the place since and there is still a lot to do, but he loves seeing it transform.
“We thought the place was turnkey but it wasn’t,” he said. “We had to fix the sales terminals and identification scanners, and some of the computers were missing.
“We had to do work on the floors which took days and the sound system had to be fixed. We were supposed to have bars and railings around the stage and metal stairs but that didn’t get done.”
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Johnston said unlike the smaller Blue Grotto, Nightshift on Fifth is so big it is considered a “super club” with capacity for 625 people.
“This place is wild, it is a good one,” he said. “If you had this in Vancouver it would be a super club. Anything over 400 is considered getting into a bigger nightclub, they don’t give out licenses like this all the time.”
The location at 130 Fifth Street used to be Cactus Jack’s, a country bar. It is not a theme Johnston is continuing.
“We redid the countertops and I ripped off the cross tresses over the entrance way,” he said. “We are going for a steampunk look. Some of the lights we are keeping because they are kind of steampunky and we put some steampunk art up.
“I put steal on the bars, they used to have round edges but the drinks would fall off so I took the edge off exposing some really good wood. We’ve wax stained the countertop and epoxied over it.”
The former stage was turned into a lounge area with comfortable couches and a new stage area created on the main floor.
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The new club hosts DJs and live bands, featuring Top 40 hits and will host more diverse events down the road.
“The acoustics are not the best in here,” Johnston said. “There is an echo from the concrete floor. But you don’t even notice it when the room is full of people.”
The huge venue has a pool table, pinball machines, two bars, a dance floor and a lounge area. There is wood flooring stretching throughout and edgy, futuristic art pieces on the walls.
Local artists are currently working on a big, funky sign for the building.
While customers and entertainment poured in to have fun and celebrate the new club this past week, Johnston said at one point, he had to “focus on what matters”.
“Liquor service, entertainment and safety, but not in that specific order,” he joked. “Safety first, entertainment second and liquor service third.”
Johnston is grateful for the continuing encouragement he receives from the community as he continues to shape and define Nightshift on Fifth.
— this story was changed at 8:38 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 19 to correct the subject's last name.
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