Fishtown soon will welcome a dance club back to its nightlife scene.
The Barbary is set to reopen Thursday, three years after it announced a "brief pause" for improvements. The two-floor venue has sat empty on Frankford Avenue since February 2022, spurring social media speculation on its future. Its opening weekend also spans Friday and Saturday, though the Barbary has not shared its regular hours.
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Regulars apparently got a preview last weekend, when the Barbary held a soft opening. A video posted on its Instagram shows customers crowding the bar and dancing under neon lights.
Management offered a two-word statement on the return: "We're back."
The Barbary only recently had resumed regular business when it shuttered in 2022. As COVID-19 forced entertainment venues to close, the nightclub pivoted to "sidewalk parties" with spiked slushies for refreshments. It brought customers back inside in August 2021.
The nightclub's owner had put it on the market in 2016, listing the 951 Frankford Ave. property for $2.2 million. According to city records, Cobafeba LLC bought it in 2019 for $1.2 million.
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