After two years of being shut down, nightclubs finally opened in Kathmandu in September this year. Though people were unsure about going out as they did before COVID, partygoers of the valley were seen flooding the clubs almost as soon as they opened. And now that things are starting to look normal, more crowds can be seen.
Rabin Shrestha, owner of Lord of Drinks (LOD) says, “People are definitely excited to get out and enjoy. When we first opened post lockdown, only our regular customers were here. But these days, I see a lot of new faces."
Wednesdays and Fridays nightclubs are mostly packed. However, they are receiving more crowds than usual even on weekdays. “Sometimes we receive a crowd on weekdays unexpectedly,” says Shrestha. “A lot of people showed up unexpectedly during Tihar. We weren’t expecting it so we struggled a bit because 50% of our staff were on a holiday”, says Milan Shrestha, owner of Fahrenheit.
The crowd during the recent festive season was also something club owners were not anticipating. Usually, during Dashain and Tihar, there are fewer people at clubs as most of them are with their families. However this year the number of people was significant despite the festivals. “Tihar proved to be a surprise for us more than Dashain as many people were out of the valley. And while we thought not many will show up, there was a huge crowd”, says Rabin.
On average, about one thousand people are at clubs according to Rabin. Clubs are very careful about preventing the over-crowding of people. “We announce that we are house full and close the doors once we reach full capacity”, he adds. When the clubs reopened, only people who were vaccinated were allowed to enter. However, it is no longer checked these days.
Milan shares how social distance among groups is suggested however it isn't practical to maintain. The clubs are properly cleaned every night and everyone is sanitized before entering. “All our staffs are vaccinated. None of our team members have been infected by the virus either”, he explains.
Though the clubs may look crowded every weekend, business still is not smooth for them. It is surely better compared to how things were for two years. However, it is far from what it used to be pre-covid. “We no longer need to pay rent and our staff using our personal money. That itself is a great thing for me”, says Milan. “However, we still have a long way to go to cover up for the two years”, he adds.
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