Now that hearts have healed from the loss of longtime nightclub The Palace (1721 Brunswick Street), brotherly business partners Michel and Marcel Khoury are ready to reveal what’s been a two million dollar secret. That’d be HFX Sports Bar & Grill, the mammoth sports bar/lounge/restaurant hybrid that’ll move in to the downtown space this fall.
“We noticed that the business has changed quite a bit from the old days,” says Marcel Khoury, who’s family has ran the former Palace and The Alehouse since 1987. “Not as many students coming out, numbers heading downtown not the same. Trends, demographics and even habits have changed.”
The inconsistency of the Palace’s crowd was its demise in the end, forcing it to close suddenly in April. “We want to be in this for the long haul,” says Marcel. “It’s the business we know. We want a seven-nights-a-week business, like The Alehouse.”
And that’s why they’ve invested that two million in HFX Sports Bar & Grill, a bright new space inspired by the place the Khoury brothers have seen in their travels, and their own vision—a softened version of the typical sports bar.
“We’re blessed to have in this location,” says Marcel of the 11,000 square foot space that neighbours the Metro Centre, home of the Halifax Mooseheads and Rainmen. The bar’s main feature will be a wall of in 16 LED panels, flanked by even more LED screens, for maximum sport enjoying. And you’ll barely have the opportunity to miss a point with 90-plus other screens throughout the venue, bathrooms, stairwells and booths included. A curtain wall will also be installed along the Brunswick Street wall, lighting up the long-time dark room and giving patrons a view of the busy stretch below.
While the emphasis is definitely on the sports fans, the Khourys want HFX Sports’ comfortable, welcoming space to appeal to a wider crowd—from families to after-work wine— with its glitzier lounge vibe, upscale but mid-priced pub food, a private lounge for rent and an attached sports apparel shop.
Marcel Khoury says he’s not trying to compete with the city’s other popular sports pubs, which is why he and his brother have aimed to make HFX Sports something the city hasn’t seen.
“A vibrant city needs a vibrant downtown,” he says, with high hopes for October for an opening date.
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2013.
That’s great news! I live just down the street from The Alehouse and can’t wait to catch a big game and dinner without having to worry about parking like on Spring Garden Road.
Sounds like Hfx sports bar is going Take over this city . Halifax, needs something fun! the clubs have lost there mojo. Bubba Rays Sports bar On the other hand, has become a hit! with the city’s best wings! Pretty good atmosphere. fairly ok service:) I think it’s great that the Khoury family is knows change is good.should be fun to watch! the next few months unfold. a Real city sports bar & entertainment. cant wait!
If this place shows internet games: soccer, rugby, basketball, tennis, hockey, etc. from different countries with individual audio for each game like Montreal, Toronto, Saskatoon and other Canadian cities have done for years, then it is a real SportsBar. If it just has a lot of TVs with lots of disco music and cable tv like you get at home with no sound or little sound, it is not a real sportsbar and they have missed their chance. If it just plays discotheque music, then it is just another Halifax “Sports Dioscotheque” and I don’t see what the hype is about. Go wherever you like the food, liquor or prices.
We don’t go to a Sports Bar for food or rock and roll. We go for the GAME!
We have about 15 tvs and monitors in our house with individual audio for internet and satellite games. We just go downtown for the atmosphere. It helps if your game is on with audio that can be heard. If not, we stay home, less atmosphere but we do have the game.
In those other cities every couple hours another crowd comes in to see their country’s game live. But that might take a while to catch on in the Maritimes. I have been waiting for a few years. In the meantime we just travel to those other cities and have fun!
Good luck to them in any case. We will check them out. HobbySat 🙂
Downtown isn’t dead, it’s just plagued with shitty promoters who gave up on putting together quality events and have hired shitty DJs for cheap because it’s easy. Student’s have better parties at their frats and dorms than most clubs are willing to put the effort into and anyone over the age of 22 isn’t interested in abrasive dubstep. That’s why people have stopped going out and that’s why the Tribeca, Pogue, and Palace had to close. But hey, who cares. Let’s flick on the TV and stop caring.
All black interior + Very dim lighting = depressing