I’ll never forget my first time at Hugo’s. It was a time when The Cross was alive. You’d jump off the train, struggle up the neverending escalators in your heels and arrive to a street filled with nightlife. The atmosphere fragranced of the alcohol you were about to drown yourself in, lines out of clubs were metres long and there was always a moshpit of people grabbing a quick maccas feed.
For the social-media obsessed, the night out started with an obligatory photo in front of the beaming Coca Cola sign to be uploaded with something along the lines of ‘Kings Cross bound. #thecross’. We didn’t realise it at the time but we were beyond spoilt for choice. Which club would it be this time? Or should we go here first then there after? You’d walk past a good twenty or so promoters flashing free drink cards to lure you in.
On one particular one of these lively Kings X nights, my friends and I accidentally ended up at Hugo’s. The club we were at previously was too crowded (and yes kids, pre lock-out laws the clubs used to get pretty damn chockers). We walked up the stairs and paid our entry to be exposed to a world of sophistication and delight. Hugo’s was the perfect hybrid of ‘chilled drinking’ and ‘ripping up the dance floor.’ We literally got into a friendly dance battle (we won of course) and supplied the room with our hysterical laughter all night long. It was a night to remember and there’s no doubt in my mind many others would treasure the memories that they too created at Hugo’s.
I think my heart might have broken ever so slightly, when a friend of mine told me in August last year that it was was shutting down. 18 months after the lockout laws were introduced, the club was forced to close. Today, we are happy to provide you all with some freaking fantastic news. A group of promoters have announced that Hugo’s is set to be back in business as soon as February 2017. Though this will be as a temporary ‘pop-up’ venue, we are not complaining whatsoever.
New operator, Eric Jury, told The Daily Telegraph, ‘Hopefully this could be the beginning of a new era for this venue and that street in particular. I’m hoping that we can bring the people back and make the area as popular as it once was.’
Eric, you the real MVP. He said they’ve begun installing the 730 square-metre bar with sound-proofing in order to comply noise restrictions. That’s all the deets we know so far, but we shall keep you party-goers posted.
