Tom Waes was a 22-year-old as porter in Café d'anvers: Never quarrel, never had any problems

Antwerp The well-known Antwerp nightclub Café d'anvers connect directly to the doors. The reason for the sudden closure is not yet known. This autumn would be dancing her thirtieth birthday celebration. “Very unfortunate,” says Tom Waes, who was there as a 22-year-old as a bouncer at the door was.

Thirty years in the nightclub quite a few people, great evenings and nights worried, but now close nightclub Café d'anvers immediately the doors. That is the message on the Facebook page of assistant manager Romy Mertens. Why the Antwerp club, the doors close, is not yet clear. The city of Antwerp has already nothing to do with the conclusion, which affirms spokesman Dirk Delechambre.

“Almost 10 years I can enjoy. A lot of ups and downs, but still I was there every weekend. Beautiful friendships to show for it and a book full of memories. Too many to even remember. It strikes in like a bomb, but where one door closes, another will open. The end of a great club with great people who have done them right, in spite of all adversities. But also for me the end of a chapter and the nightlife,” writes Romy on her Facebook.

Café d'anvers opened its doors in 1989. In that period was acid house at its peak. The style was characterized by deep bass lines, electronic synths, and came over from Los Angeles via Great Britain to Europe. This was Café d'anvers, the uitgaansplek for house-lovers. Thanks to the good reputation belonged to the club for many years in the best one hundred clubs in the world, according to the trade magazines within the genre. That meant in turn that the management could extract the largest producers of electronic music. Just think of Sven Väth, Felix Da Housecat and Green Velvet.

Bouncer Tom Waes

Between 1990 and 1995, the then 22-year-old Tom Waes still at the entrance as a door. “Café d’Anvers was just taken over by a new owner who wanted a fresh breeze to the nightclub to blow. Through they came to me and asked me not porter wanted to be. Because I also have quite a lot of people knew in Antwerp, they got immediately a new audience,” says Waas. To say that Tom has only great memories of the disco. “That was there was very pleasant. We were but two at the entrance while they today quickly with ten man at the entrance. There was never a quarrel, and there was never fought. I have great years of experience. That Cafe d’Anvers now close I find immensely sad. It is, nevertheless, one of the most iconic clubs that disappears.”

Megabordeel

That the current owner Pim De Rhoodes other plans with the property, that was already known. In the last few years went a little less with the popular disco and, therefore, thought the Dutchman, after a new interpretation. “Every five years you get control over the floor you licence re-granting. So it can just immediately pass,” said The Rhoodes last year in February. He saw bones in a megabordeel and filed a request in to Café d'anvers a megabordeel to do with 61 rooms. But the city is not on and they refused that request. “We prefer to see an initiative that the neighborhood is good,” sounded it then.

Last weekend was the last time you danced was in Café d'anvers. In the autumn, would the nightclub her thirtieth birthday celebration. “To all the jokers... This is not a 1-April joke”, says Romy.