Lucky Bar will change ownership at the end of the month. Photo / Bevan Conley
Lucky Bar will change ownership at the end of the month. Photo / Bevan Conley
Lucky Bar + Kitchen owners Georgie Ormond and Matt Edmonds have decided to sell up and move on to the other things after three years running the business.
"Our lease came up for re-signing, and we just thought it would be great if someone else could carry it on," Ormondsaid.
She and Edmonds primarily want to book gigs in the future, without the pressure of running a kitchen and restaurant, she said.
"We did think about expanding to day times and revisiting the Lucky gallery, music store, clothes and coffee emporium we ran from 2010 to 2014, but we just don't have the time.
Ormond already works full time, and Edmonds is an industrial coatings expert.
Ormond said it was impossible to name just one favourite event they've put on over the past three years, with "maybe a thousand things to choose from".
"Some of the most exciting and entertaining gigs were the least attended, because no one had heard of them or knew anyone in the band personally.
"It's nice to see that they're now playing important venues and big stages nationally and internationally.
"We were just talking this morning about a Brazilian musician who played Lucky, who's about to hop on stage at Madison Square Gardens.
"It's not surprising, because he just blew us away."
Ormond said that Lucky always did everything it could to support the bands that came through Whanganui, offering food and a sound person, no venue hire, and 100 per cent of the cover charge.
"We always worry on behalf of the bands and comedians about whether people will come to their shows.
"I really hope that people in New Zealand start looking at an entrance fee as a ticket to a space that is attractive, inclusive, safe and friendly, rather than just looking at whether they know the name of the act that's playing.
"We love the magic that happens, and we feel like we've done what we set out to do.
"We love art, and we love looking after and meeting amazing people."
New owner Andrew Renee is set to take over the Wilson St venue at the end of March. With Lucky Bar at the centre of Whanganui's live music scene, Ormond said that bands and artists would "most definitely" be continuing to play there, and she and Edmonds will still organise gigs at Lucky as well.
"Having Whanganui as a place to play means a lot on the national stage for grassroots bands and for Whanganui itself.
"Music is everywhere, on the radio, on ads, piped through buildings, and the bands that are touring are the grassroots of that.
"They are the bands future covers bands will cover, and I hope people continue to support it."
