Well kids, it’s another sad day in the Halifax bar scene. Word has trickled out over twitter for the past few hours that the Palace was rumored to be closing, and sadly this has been confirmed by its owners Marcel and Michel Khoury.

This is not how we envisioned kicking off our Venue countdown, as it was a favorite of the three of us (it will be included in the countdown), but it still remains what Phoenix will rise from its ashes, but there are talks that one will. Hopefully the space will remain a viable live music venue, I’ve had some memorable nights at the Palace (75% of which were music/concert related). One that always sticks out was a night I had won tickets to see Thornley and The Trews and it just happened to be a night that everything just clicked, my concert companions for the night and I were all into Big Wreck so it was great to hear tunes such as “That Song”, “The Oaf” and “Blown Wide Open”, but the highlight of the night was the Trews’ cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and the entire crowd singing along. It was a fun night and always one I think back fondly on.

I’m not sure if many others would agree, but the decision to sever Jerry’s from the Palace was a dark dark day. It was always a nice option to be able to drift from the dance floor/club crowd over to a more tables and drinks sort of place to find a bit of a refuge from the craziness. Yes, there was the 2nd smaller dance floor over there, but it always seemed to the saner of the two. With the open concept, the whole space seemed to flow really well. Unfortunately, the Palace was of the era when JJ Rossey’s and the Liquor Dome ruled the roost and Dollar Drinks were a plenty, but much like Peddler’s and JJ’s before it, time had run out for the Palace and it’s time for the houselights to come up. For now we are left with The Alehouse (or so I assume) and we will have to remain tuned in to see what becomes of the space. In the meantime, let’s pour one out for the Last Chance for Romance Meat Market that was the ol’ Palace.

If you want to see more, here’s the link to the article from The Chronicle Herald on the closure.