Last night (Thursday January 5), the Greyhound Hotel (otherwise known as the GH Hotel) announced that "as of today the GH Hotel will no longer be open for business... due to recent unforeseen circumstances."
One of the biggest gay venues in Melbourne, the Greyhound Hotel had been under threat of closure for some time. In November last year, Port Phillip Council confirmed that developers had lodged an application earlier in 2016 for an eight-storey apartment block to be built on the site of the 163-year-old venue. At that time, the Greyhound’s director, Karina Harcourt, told the Port Phillip Leader that plans to close the venue were “absolutely not” on the cards, but that it was the owners’ back-up plan in case the venue didn’t start making more money.
Despite a change.org petition to save the Greyhound Hotel and the work of Port Phillip Council to approve a interim heritage order on the venue, it seems that doors to the beloved gay bar have closed for good. As one of Melbourne’s hottest venues for drag performers, it’s a real blow to our city’s LGBTIQ culture, and another in a line of queer-friendly venues to close.
We’ll provide further updates as they come.