West Queen West hipster landmark the Social will be closing its doors with a grand finale foam party Monday (July 4) after seven years of debauchery and dancing. It feels a bit like the end of an era, and demonstrates just how much the area has changed over the past decade.
However, the party isn’t over quite yet, as the people behind the dance club are about to open a larger new venue called the Hoxton at 69 Bathurst August 6, which will allow them to try things that would never be possible at the Social.
“What we can do there is so much different because now we’ve got a large stage for live events,” explains co-owner Richard Lambert. “The Social was primarily a club for DJs, but this will be much more multi-faceted. It’s a real blank canvas.”
Lambert isn’t giving up the Social’s 1100 Queen West location though – he and his partners are going to be spending the next few months transforming the bar into a pub, in an attempt to adjust to the changing nature of the rapidly-gentrifying neighbourhood.
“I think there’s a real gap in the market for a pub in this area – someplace laidback where everyone can feel comfortable, especially the new condo dwellers. We might actually be buying up an old pub in London that’s closed down and shipping over all their memorabilia to make it feel more authentic.”
In a strange twist, the condo boom that helped inspire the change was partly due to the success of places like the Social, a reality that Lambert’s quite aware of.
“We were used in the marketing spin for nearly every single one of those condos. We’ve definitely helped gentrify the neighbourhood, which some people might not like, but it is a fact.”
While he’s excited by both new ventures, you can’t ignore that one of the factors was the city’s refusal to grant the bar an Entertainment Facility license so that they could grow into a proper club. After trying for years, it was time to give up, and instead take over a room fortunate enough to already have one.
“The Social ran its course, but the legal stuff with the city was relevant too. They wouldn’t give us an Entertainment Facility license, so we’re doing what the city told us to do.”
Soon the bangin’ electro house beats at Queen and Dovercourt will just be a memory, and over the years many great ones have been made. Lambert’s own favourite moment involved a famous rapper discovering his inner cross-dresser.
“K’naan was performing one night during the film fest a few years ago, and Mos Def was hanging out here. He took a bunch of women’s clothes from 69 Vintage next door and got up onstage to play a bunch of songs. That was definitely pretty memorable, if a little off-topic from what we were doing normally.”
