As the new year ushers in change, the downtown bar, Clazel, made the decision to discontinue their nightclub.
“Our special events business, corporate events/wedding receptions/concerts, has grown exponentially over the last five years leading us to focus primarily on that area of business. We decided to phase out late night/club aspect of our business by the end of 2015,” owner Ammar Mufleh wrote in an email.
Mufleh wrote that University-registered student groups are also welcome to book Clazel for events and many events that are already booked for this year.
So while Clazel won’t be open for University students to go to on a Friday or Saturday night, the space will still remain open for events, such as Live Wire concerts and Jazz Night, which is Wednesday nights from 8 p.m. until midnight.
Clazel first opened as a movie theater but was renovated and opened as a club in 2009, with Mufleh wanting the concept to be something different – where students can go to party but experience something they won’t get from other bars downtown, according to an article published on Toledo.com on Oct. 1, 2009.
Many students weren’t surprised to hear that Clazel was shutting down, and many cited the club’s mixed reviews on the reputation as a main reason they thought the club portion was phased out.
“I can see why when you think about it. It’s got some mixed reviews. It’s going to make the other bars crowded,” sophomore Tori Guyette said.
If students wanted to go to Clazel for some of the special events they’d be holding, a lot said it would depend on what was happening there.
“It would depend on what the special events are and what crowd was there. It was really sketchy sometimes,” senior Cassidy Johnson said.
But not all students would be turned away from events at Clazel. With Live Wire hosting concerts there, some would enjoy seeing live music and bands playing.
“I’d go to a live concert there. My cousin actually met her husband at a jazz event,” sophomore Madaline Norton said.
But even when students heard about the club aspect of Clazel being discontinued, they weren’t surprised it was happening.
“I did hear about it. I’ve never been there. I’ve heard it’s on the lower end side,” third year student Justin Weir said.
Clazel first made the announcement that they were phasing out their nightclub in a Facebook post dated Dec. 17, 2015.
