Two iconic live music bars in Southport are temporarily closing due to the Coronavirus outbreak – but have vowed to come back better than ever.
Avenue and Chop House, both on Scarisbrick Avenue in Southport town centre, are legendary for hosting a wide variety of singers and live bands.
But owner Carl White has now announced the venues will temporarily close until the virus clears and life gets back to normal.
He said: “Sometimes we just have to do the right thing and use our common sense.
“The past few days have proved very difficult for everyone as we all try to digest and make sense of the current situation.
“But ultimately the safety of our customers and staff must be the priority. So with this in mind we have decided to close the bar until at least April 3.
Southport firms remain open during outbreak – please support!http://standupforsouthport.com/southport-firms-remain-open-during-outbreak-please-support/
“Putting extra and un-needed pressure on the emergency services, and compromising yours and our staff’s safety is not a chance worth taking.
“The sooner this passes, the sooner we can all go out again and watch live music and socialise with our friends again, and enjoy a night out, but we need to all make a start and work on this together.
“Anyone who had made plans to come and watch a band over the next few weeks, we can only apologise and we massively apologise to the bands whose shows we’ve had to cancel, but we will come back stronger and better than before!
“We have been following all advice issued by central and local Government and once again we apologise to anybody affected by the changes.
“Everybody needs to remain patient but above all remain safe. We look forward to that moment when we can all successfully get back to normal and watch some live music.”