Chocolate Bar in November 2014.
Chocolate Bar was a pub and bistro that was situated on Common Quay Street in Wexford town, near the Bullring. It was a very popular spot throughout the 2000s and early 2010s.
This photograph of the inside is facing towards the bar area.
It closed its doors at the end of 2014. Afterwards, the building became home to an Asian street food restaurant called Ramen.
Chocolate was my go-to choice to watch football games. On the 14th of April, 2009, I visited the bar to watch Chelsea and Liverpool’s exciting 4-4 draw in the Champions League quarter-finals. Five years later, on the 13th of April, 2014, I ate lunch in the smoking area and watched as Philippe Coutinho sealed Liverpool a 3-2 victory over Manchester City.
It had multiple TVs. At night, these would often play music videos from the likes of Timbaland and 50 Cent.
At the end of 2014, it was reported that the property had been listed for sale. Not long after, the smoking area was boarded up.
The outside in January 2015. The windows at the top were still displaying the logo of a nightclub called the Renaissance.
The Renaissance
Up until around 2009, Chocolate also had a nightclub called the Renaissance.
It opened at some point in the mid-2000s. At the time, the two main players in town were the Centenary Stores and the Colony, and clubbers would often swap between them.
When the Renaissance launched, it provided a third option for people who wanted something different. It was considerably smaller than the other two nightclubs, which was actually a good thing, as it gave the place an intimate, personal charm. Its larger competitors often felt empty and deserted on quieter nights.
Many people would head to Chocolate for a few drinks while they waited for the Renaissance to open. At around 10pm, the double doors would open, and people would begin to line up.
People would line up at the double doors on the right.
Once you got past the bouncers, you walked up a flight of stairs and entered the nightclub.
These are photographs of the dancefloor. The photo on the left is pointing towards the stage in the back. The photo on the right is looking towards the entrance to the dancefloor. The Renaissance had a second floor, which looped around the exterior.
Sadly, Wexford’s nightlife suffered tremendously following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, as the crowds dwindled, young people emigrated, and patrons began to spend less.
Various photographs of the seating areas.
During the recession, nightclubs such as the Renaissance, the Lava Lounge, and the Music Factory were all forced to close their doors.
The Lava Lounge was a short-lived nightclub on Wexford Quay.
When the Renaissance closed, Chocolate remained open. Although it battled through the downturn and continued to operate as a bar for the next four or five years, it seems as though the owners finally decided to throw in the towel at the end of 2014.
