A SCREEN GRAB OF FOOTAGE RELEASED OF THE NEW-AND-IMPROVED KING'S CLUB IN DOWNTOWN MONCTON. IMAGE: KING'S CLUB
King’s Club in Moncton will reopen, bigger and better on two floors in downtown Moncton, at the end of this month.
Dr. Rupali Saini, co-founder of the King’s Club, said renovations to add a second floor and updated interior to the bar, which is located at 841 Main Street, are wrapping up.
“We already had a location on the main floor until March 2022, but then, because it could only accommodate 50 people and we had many more people who wanted to come in, we got rid of the offices that were on the second floor,” Saini said.
A year’s worth of heavy renovations saw the removal of office spaces, a revamp of the interior with new paint, the installation of bathrooms, and new lighting.
“It’s going to be a new club because it has a completely new interior and everything is going to be different,” said Saini.
When the club reopens on July 22 it can accommodate 160 guests on two, 2,000-square-foot floors.
Saini and her husband, Chef Sandeep “Sandy” Saini, are the minds behind King’s Club, the Grand King Indian Grocery Store, and the Royal King: Taste of India restaurant, both of which are in Saint John.
“My husband opened three businesses during the pandemic so we managed to survive,” said Saini.
The Saini’s opened King’s Club in February 2021. Their son Karan Saini will be at the helm as manager when it reopens.
Saini said the plan was to expand to the second floor shortly after opening, but it became too difficult to run the business with work going on to renovate the second floor at the same time.
At first, they tried to accommodate the work with a truncated schedule but then shifted to a four-month closure to make way for contractors with Shahpur Construction & Reno Ltd. to get the work done.
“Because of the construction, a lot of heavy stuff had to be carried upstairs and then we had to close down completely on March 14, 2021,” Saini said.
“We’ve been waiting patiently for so long because with construction you need so many permissions and inspections, and the work is slow and gradual. Once you have a contractor, with vacations in between and the pandemic, it was on and off and on and off,” she added.
Saini stressed that she and King’s Club’s clientele are anxious to see doors open again.
“We’ve received emails and everyone is waiting for it to open – we’re excited about it.”
Sam Macdonald is a Reporter for Huddle Today, a content-sharing partner with Acadia Broadcasting.
