A new club with a famous name in an old spot will come to Groningen’s Gelkingestraat in the Autumn
Translated by Thomas Ansell
Anyone that has ever been clubbing in the city of Groningen knows that there are lots of options available: if you want to have your face melted by cutting edge techno, there’s Paradigm. If you’re more into cheesy 90’s pop and sickeningly sweet drinks, there’s the Poelestraat. If you fancy breathing in a frat boy’s beer breath as he screams the lyrics to a Dutch folk song set to a hard house beat, yep, it’s the Negende Cirkel (of hell) for you.
But what about if you want the archetypal ‘big city’ clubbing experience: people wearing their once-a-week gladrags, sticky floors, and lifeless chart pop? Well, we had club Kokomo- until it was killed off by the Coronavirus pandemic- but soon we shall have Palace, reports the GIC.
Apparently, the building that housed Kokomo/Palace has been a club since 1987, and those who are into the 11th year of the Undergraduate degree might recognise the name (if not, ask your parents). Apparently, The Palace was a Groninger clubbing staple up until 2010, until it was reborn as Kokomo. With the 90’s being back in almost every way, the owners have decided to re-brand again.
Owner Bart Westerhof says that the entire experience will be different; with new lighting, sound system, entrance; floor (thankfully), style; and exterior decoration. “We spoke to lots of people asking ‘what’s a good name?’ and about half suggested Palace, and we agree with them!”
Westerhof wants to have Palace open by the end of September, though following the disastrous ‘testen voor toegang’ experiment last month, he isn’t holding his breath. “We have a bit more time to prepare now, and we hope to give people that ‘wow’ when they walk in the club after so many months of not being able to.”
Photo by David Jackson on Unsplash
