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The covid-19 pandemic is pushing nightlife companies into the abyss, such as the Alejandro de Santiago do Cacém nightclub (Setúbal), which for nine months has been reluctant to open its doors again.
Accustomed to the rhythm of other times, the owner of the nightclub, Alexandre Matos, is now dedicated to cleaning the space, which is closed, to guarantee the longevity of the team that, one day, will return “to encourage the clientele.”
“On event days, I used to travel 20 kilometers through all the spaces. Now, I also make sure to walk around here, but the pace is slower,” he says.
Every day, without exception, the businessman and his wife spend hours in Quinta das Tílias, an area of more than seven hectares, at the entrance to the city of Santiago do Cacém, where they built their “empire.” In addition to the disco, he also created a hall for weddings and other events and local accommodation.
“For my mental health, I have to come here every day because it is a lot of pressure. I have to forget, face it and endure it until this pandemic is over,” underlines the businessman, who at age 21 embarked on this adventure.
The owner is the main face of a space that he calls the “institution of the night”, an inescapable place of entertainment, in operation for 36 years, but that the COVID-19 pandemic has left “off the chain.”
“We opened in February, for the 36th anniversary, and from then on everything was canceled. We had to do the big summer parties and so far we haven’t done anything, even in the events area, we had weddings and dances with more than 400 people , but everything was canceled ”, reports.
The alarm caused by SARS Cov-2, an initially unknown virus with a high mortality rate, caused that, “right at the great closure, there was a general panic and people chose to cancel the events and reschedule some for the next year “. “.
The night space, inaugurated in 1984, has already experienced glorious days, but the months of confinement that extend over time represent a lost year for the company that Alexandre created and to which he dedicated his entire life.
This “represents a year zero so far,” explains the official who “has a structure [fixa] small ”, although fixed expenses exceed three thousand euros per month.
“As we work with many employees, depending on the number of people needed for the services, it gives us a certain advantage, but we have the fixed expenses that we have been supporting for nine months, without any income,” says the businessman who has resorted to equity “to meet with financial commitments.
The disco is now “frozen in time” with empty tracks, dust accumulated on the sound system, turned off for months, and the silence “resonates” in the large columns that decorate the space.
“Alexander’s is almost an institution of the night, here everyone met and has a long history”, highlights the owner who, until 2012, kept the nightclub as his main business.
The drop in customers made the company adapt and, from that moment on, the nightclub “became a complement to other events” because it is “a space that can be used a lot, less now, because the pandemic hit the nail in all our business areas, ”he says in a choked voice.
Local accommodation helped minimize the impact of the pandemic, during the summer months, but the same cannot be said for the New Year, “an oxygen balloon” for the sector that has just been “crossed out” from the calendar.
“Last week I received calls to see if I was thinking of doing New Year’s Eve, but I tell people that there are no conditions to do it. It would be the oxygen balloon for the first months of the year, but it is out of the question and until then we have no income ”, he laments.
On the part of the State, “so far I have not been able to get any help”, says the official, saying that he hopes “non-refundable support for the recovery of the business and support for the recovery so that people can open again, have credit and minimize losses “. “.
“I am taking losses every month and I am making payments on account for the year 2021, on the profits of 2019, when this year I have no profit. They are doing ‘rings and fingers’ to see if I can He will hold the house until it passes and can reopen, “he adds.
Despite feeling apprehensive about the future, the businessman refuses to sit back and promises some fighting to reopen the doors to Alexander’s “healthy nights” at the disco.
“I don’t know if I will work like I used to, but I hope to do anything to recover part of the business and survive because we are looking forward to seeing joy and music in this house,” he concludes.
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