Adelaide CBD nightclub stoush: Precinct, Red Square and Zhivago trade blows after venue closes down

Business can be brutal, but an Australian nightclub has called out it’s competitors for going too far.

The Precinct Nightclub in Adelaide‘s CBD opened in February 2021 and was on February 28 this year locked out of the premises by their landlord over tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent.

Rival clubs Red Square and Zhivago posted memes to social media last week of a man looking chuffed over a grave with Precinct’s logo pasted over the tombstone.

‘Tonight we pay our respects, with $3 vodkas ’til 12am,’ Red Square’s post read.

‘We are honouring all Precinct drinkcards. To any staff that hadn’t already left, feel free to apply for work with us here.’

Popular Adelaide club Precinct shut its doors last week with outstanding rent debts

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Competitor Red Square posted a meme mocking the business shutting its doors with another club Zhivago also piling on

Precinct said it was low to mock its staff who were now out of work 

Zhivago wrote: ‘Red Square and I currently busy attending a funeral atm. See you all tonight from 9pm’.

The Precinct, a hip hop venue run by the registered business Precinct27 Pty Ltd, owed $37,786.07 in outstanding rent to landlords Duke King William Pty Ltd, reports The Adelaide Advertiser.

On Saturday night the business owners issued a statement to their supporters and hit out at their rivals over their pointed posts.

‘It saddens us to let all our awesome patrons know that Precinct closed this week,’ Precinct said.

‘It saddens us that a venue would make fun of the fact our staff are now unemployed.

‘We would like to thank (fellow CBD venue) Dog and Duck for showing some respect in a very hard time for a lot of people. I guess all the staff and DJs will be at Dogs tonight.’

Dog and Duck had drawn its line in the sand earlier in the day when it posted a message in support of the club and slamming Red Square.

‘We would like to think patrons who loved Precinct would be as upset as the ex Precinct staff to see this kind of post,’ it wrote.

‘Any venue that thinks the loss of 70 jobs is something to joke about, shows a complete disregard for all the staff who lost their jobs.’

Commenters on the post sided up with their favourite clubs.

Some took issue with Red Square and Zhivago’s ‘distasteful’ posts.

‘What’s Red Square’s problem?’ one person said.

‘It’s Red Square, what else would you expect? If only it was them that were shutting their doors for good,’ another added.

‘Wow that sucks Precinct nightclub was the best club in Adelaide gonna miss the place,’ added a third.

‘I really enjoyed working with you all, the best team I’ve ever had the opportunity to know,’ a fourth said.

The Precinct billed itself as Adelaide’s premier hip hop superclub 

Another venue the Dog and Duck showed their support for Precinct 

But others took issue that some Precinct staff weren’t told they’d lost their jobs personally.

‘We know a staff member who only found about this through the posts,’ one person said.

‘Precinct has no-one to blame but themselves,’ another added.

Another said any club closing was a blow to the city. 

‘No matter your favourite club bartenders, glassies and security staff loosing shifts is never nice,’ one person wrote.

‘Everyone who works in this industry has something in common and that is the passion and love we all have for our work.

‘Get out there and support the clubs as we all want a thriving Adelaide nightlife.’