How middlesbrough's empire got new lease of life after 'erasing the ugly'

The boss of The Empire in Middlesbrough says he’s confident for its future after “erasing the ugly bit” and breathing new life into the venue. This time last year, the iconic nightspot faced

an uncertain future after trouble with door staff outside and a “pattern” of serious behaviour saw its licence revoked. But after a complete change in management, the venue was allowed to

reopen on May 18, 2024 – and one year after taking charge, general manager and director Jordan Jefferson says it hasn’t looked back. Experienced in bar and club management and organising

outdoor events, Jordan admits it was “pretty daunting” to take over a venue that wasn’t even guaranteed to get its licence back. But the prestige and potential of such an iconic building

persuaded him to give it a go and alongside venue manager James Taylor, who joined in November after spells at The Keys in Yarm and Soho in Middlesbrough, he set about transforming the

place. The old management team was replaced and a respected security team, Hinson’s Security Services, brought in. And now, one year later, Jordan says he’s ready to take the next steps to

make the most of the 128-year-old venue’s potential. He told Teesside Live: “When I first took over, one of the main things I wanted to do was add to the venue’s great history. Erase the

ugly bit of two licence reviews and look at what happened before, with great DJs and bands playing there – everyone from Johnny Marr to Fatboy Slim – so it was very much our ambition to keep

adding to that. “We couldn’t forget about the ugly stuff at the start, of course. We couldn’t put a social media post up without people commenting negatively, but we’ve definitely found

that perception has changed. “It’s only been a year but we feel we’re definitely on the right path and have erased those negative comments. Mostly we get good feedback and that’s because

there’s been a complete shift in mentality. “We talk to customers – we don’t go in all guns blazing because that’s not how people want to be treated.” The venue is still owned by Barry

Faulkner senior who, says Jordan, is in regular contact “but in terms of the day-to-day running of the venue, he leaves me to my own devices, which is great.” And after spending last summer

getting to know the venue and what needed to be done, Jordan is now confident that by offering more events after hooking up with booking company 456live, The Empire can thrive again. He

said: “I think everyone will back us when we say we’ve brought more variety to the venue. We’re now doing things like over-30s daytime events, techno events, country nights and we’ve just

signed off on our first set of inspirational speakers. “We’re keeping the nightclub thing going, of course, but that’s a declining market so the obvious choice was to increase our events but

keep the nightclub steady. We’re still the place to go on Thursday and Saturday nights but we do a lot of ‘one-offs’ now – we just had a Saturday daytime northern soul event, for example.

“We’re trying to put something in there for everyone – that’s our ethos. It’s an old theatre, so we’re playing with the venue a bit, doing different things and trying to make it fit any

suitable event that comes our way.” Dad-of-four Jordan, 37, cut his teeth in Teesside’s nightclub scene, including a six-year stint helping manage The Arena, before moving into event

management – including beach festivals at Redcar and Seaton Carew. But he admits that despite its former troubles, the opportunity to take on The Empire was too good to turn down. He said:

“When I took it over, the licence had been revoked. It was a risk – there was no guarantee it would even be granted its licence back so we had to make some big changes just to reopen. The

process of that was quite daunting in itself. “But when the opportunity came along, I felt a little itch that I had to scratch – a bit of unfinished business in the nightclub industry. It

felt a challenge I had a chance with. I’d promoted events in there myself, I know the area quite well and I was aware of the shift in momentum of what venues are doing now. “It’s an old

theatre building so it can be anything it wants to be. I thought there was so much missing in the calendar that I could bring to the table. I wouldn’t have taken it on if I didn’t think I

had a chance and I had a lot of support from friends and family. And especially after my time at The Arena, where we were competing against each other, I was very aware of The Empire’s

history and what a great venue it is. “So, one year on, we’re happy, the Faulkners are happy and we’ve got past the first year, which I always thought would be the hardest part. Now it’s

time to work through the summer and come this autumn, we’ll really start to see the venue kick on to its full potential.” FOR TEESSIDE UPDATES AND BREAKING NEWS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY

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