Legendary gay restaurant group Balans is auctioning off its sites
Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Amy Winehouse, whoever was left standing at Shadow Lounge as the lights came up at 6am and fancied carrying on the party over a Thai Red Curry… the original Balans on London’s glittering Old Compton Street has welcomed them all. It’s been more loyal that boyfriends #1, #3 and #7 through #10, was everyone’s go-to whether your drinking started at dusk or dawn or both, and on those balmy days with the windows pulled right back was one of the best people-watchin’ (-bitchin’) spots in the whole of Soho. But now, it’s no more.
Along with its six sister restaurants – including Balans Soho Society just down the road – our favourite actual gay 24-hour restaurant since 1987 has fallen victim to these times they variably call strange, unprecedented, shitty, and is up for sale. If you’re interested in the nitty and the gritty, the leases, licences, fixtures and fittings of the individual sites are up for auction, but the Balans name and intellectual property are being retained so, you never know.
It’s the end of a queera – but you can at least swoop in and buy some of it.
