The flavours, sounds and atmosphere of countries from Columbia to Mexico are heading to Newcastle – with the former Bijoux nightclub on Mosley Street set to be transformed into Motel Mexicana.
The new venue will offer four floors of entertainment, food and drink – as well as somewhere to stay.
The initial stages of the project, costing more than £500,000, will see the ground and first floors of the building become a Latin-influenced place to eat and drink.
Nigel Holliday and Matt Smyth, who are behind Tup Tup Palace and are partners in scare park Psycho Path, have joined forces with Andrew McGuigan, a school friend of Nigel’s and formerly of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Andrew has relocated to the North East and is overseeing the refurbishment.
The group took over Bijoux, which had been empty for around nine months and work underway with a view to the venue opening for the Easter weekend.
Nigel – also one of the partners behind Newcastle festive pop-up Moosenwirt – said that the aim was to create a venue which would be exciting and fun with lots of live music, great food and drinks.
He said: “We are going all out to create a really brilliant Latin vibe, bringing in influences from across South America as well as Mexico and Spain.”
Matt and Andrew’s wives, who are from Spain and Columbia respectively, are also involved.
The initial plan is for the venue to be open 4pm-late on Sundays and Fridays, and noon-late on Saturdays, with plans to make the venue family friendly earlier in the day.
The second phase will see the third floor turned into a motel, with one large, multiple occupancy bedroom with the same Latin style.
The fourth floor will become a roof terrace, with plans to install a retractable glass roof.
“It’s something really new for Newcastle and we have brought together all of our experience in creating places and events with the wow factor to Motel Mexicana,” added Nigel.
