Why popular Broadbeach bar Onyx is closing its doors

ICONIC Gold Coast bar Onyx will close its doors for good next Sunday, ending a decade-long era. Now the owner has revealed why she’s ‘had enough’ and the moment she realised the business would fold.

Onyx owner Lauren Hyland has explained why she’s closing the business. Picture Glenn Hampson

THE owner of iconic Gold Coast bar and restaurant Onyx says road closures, a 50 per cent drop in trade, crippling rents and the “fun police” forced her to make the heartbreaking decision to close the popular venue.

The restaurant, an anchor tenant on Broadbeach’s Surf Parade entertainment strip for the past decade, never recovered after the Gold Coast City Council closed the road for nine months last year while it underwent a revamp.

It will serve its last drink this Sunday after a “last hoorah” party to end Blues on Broadbeach.

Owner Lauren Hyland told the Gold Coast Bulletin it was more viable to close and shell out more than $400,000 for the final two years of her lease rather than stay open.

“When the council closed the road on us, we were down 80 per cent trading. And that was something we could never really recover from,” she said.

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Onyx in Broadbeach is closing down after one final hurrah on Sunday.

“We had scaffolding right up to our door and who would want to come to Onyx when you’ve got a digger next to your head?

“After that, the road closing again for the Commonwealth Games — the first two weeks was a monumental flop for us, not to mention everyone else on the street.”

She said the business struggled to cover $18,000-a-month rents, which are the same rate as five years ago despite a 50 per cent drop in trade.

“It is way too high,” she said.

“We’re not able to get in touch with the owners to talk about it. There’s just no line of communication between us, the real estate and the landlords.

“I don’t know if closing the doors will be a big enough wake-up call to landlords that businesses need help.

Onyx was a much-loved hotspot for a decade.

“People have moved on from Broadbeach. They now go to the casino or Burleigh.”

It was last Saturday when Ms Hyland said she realised her business would fold.

“At 9.30pm Onyx was the busiest place on the strip and we had two tables,” she said.

“I just burst into tears and said ‘What the hell has happened to Broadbeach?’

“We used to have people lining up down the street and now it’s a ghost town.

“We are just done. We’re tired and over the stress every week. It is just not worth it anymore.”

Ms Hyland said the fun police — liquor licensing officers — also scuttled any hopes of drawing crowds by ordering live music to stop every time patrons started having a good time.

“They’ve destroyed our business. Our customers get so annoyed because the entertainer brings out a good song, the second the crowd joins along singing, the licensing police come in.

Onyx has suffered a significant downturn in trade in recent years.

“It was purely a noise thing — two liquor licensing officials and two uniformed police would come into the venue, order the entertainer to stop playing and stand in the middle of the restaurant asking all these irrelevant questions that they ask on a fortnightly basis.

“Just last week we got a $5000 fine for a noise pollution complaint that happened a year ago that we didn’t even know about.

“It’s like we get punished for being successful.

“We have not had a fight or one incident in five years. Nobody ever walked out in front of a car, nobody has had their drinks spiked,” she said.

“People are just legitimately having fun and we’re being punished for being successful.

“Not only have we had to put out of work 15 staff, all of our musicians, suppliers etc.”

The business will remain open until the last night of Blues on Broadbeach, next Sunday.

“We want to go out with a bang and want to have a great Blues weekend.

“It’s always a big one, so May 20 is our final day, and we’re having a huge farewell party.

“Past and present musos, staff and everyone who has loved Onyx will be there.

“It will be bittersweet. There’s been so many amazing memories in that place.”

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Neighbouring businesses were saddened by the news.

A staff member from Rivea said she had been on holidays for four days and came back to the news.

“Toots shut it’s doors not long ago, now this. It’s really unfortunate. And I don’t really know why because it usually seems quite busy.”