And the hits just keep on coming for Birmingham's high-profile businesses.
Late last week, the Dali Restaurant Group — the owner of Chen Chow Brasserie — announced that Saturday, March 9 would be the last regular night for its bar and nightclub, The Hamilton Room.
While the Hamilton Room is still available for private parties, the club held its "Omega Closing Party" on Saturday night.
"Tonight is the night," The Hamilton Room's Facebook page read Saturday evening. "We close our doors forever. Come party with us one last time!"
The Hamilton Room's announcement comes directly after the club's next door neighbor Barrio officially closed at the end of February. Barrio was also run by the Dali Restaurant Group, a company owned by Eric Doelle.
The reason for closing the Hamilton Room was similar to the reason given for closing Barrio — big restaurants are having a hard time making money in Birmingham.
"The landscape in this town has become difficult to do business in with large venues, and especially difficult for nightclubs," Tracy Wilson, general manager of the Dali Group, told Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield.
With the Hamilton Room closed, and after South Bar closed amid controversy last July, Birmingham's bar and nightclub scene continues to grow smaller. Very few Birmingham bars offer live entertainment on the weekends, with even fewer offering dancing.
This isn't the first time the Hamilton Room has been in trouble, however. It was only after hours of debate that the Birmingham City Commission voted 6-1 to renew the Hamilton Room's liquor license in March 2011, with many commissioners concerned about the number of police incidents at the bar.
A year later, in April 2012, Birmingham Police notified the Hamilton Room — as well as Chen Chow and South — that they had to shut down their valet service at midnight following a shooting outside South.
Are you going to miss the Hamilton Room? Do you think their closure is good or bad for Birmingham?
