Crunch The update

Four weeks ago Crunch was taken back over by the original owner and Crunch visionary Matt Taylor who began the concept in 2008.  Whilst the news came as a shock to some, Crunch customers have been thrilled by Matt’s return.  Matt says:  “I only knew 3 days before that I was going to return, I was very apprehensive and wasn’t sure at first whether it would be better to just close and board the building up, but then I thought well why the hell not.  I rearranged my workload to allow me the time that Crunch would need.”

On 2 July, Matt took over Crunch and immediately recruited 8 staff that he has worked with in previous years.  Matt says:  “In a bizarre twist of fate, I have found myself back at the helm of Crunch.  A year ago when I left, I presumed I would never work in the village again.  The guys who took over Crunch after I left attempted to take on my vision, my ideals and tried to run with them, and despite their plans to close; it just didn’t work out for them, I wish them all the best of luck in the new ventures.  I suppose Crunch was always personal to me, and therefore only I can give it the love and attention she needs.  I am very fortunate to be working again with some of the industries finest young men and women; Crunch has amazing staff.”

There was much talk about a refurbishment and renaming Crunch over the past year, and Matt has acknowledged there is need for Crunch to make changes but plans to keep Crunch called Crunch.  A quick nip/tuck has taken place in the last 4 weeks to repair the venue to a good working order.  After Pride, Matt is going to spend some time assessing what the village is lacking and refurbish accordingly.

The village is a continually changing place and Crunch’s place in the village must change and is changing.  Matt says:  “4 years ago, the village needed someone to break the price barrier, I think I contributed quite well to this, the village was an expensive place to go and the average night out was a rip off.  Unfortunately I think I am at least partly responsible for creating the ‘beast’ which exists now, everywhere seems to be cheap, cheap drinks but the quality isn’t great.  It seems a price war has been on-going in the year I have been away, but there doesn’t appear to be a winner.  Price wars just mean that customers loose out as the quality is cut to make room for a cheaper price.  I have a plan to reverse what I started 4 years ago.”

Crunch customers have been delighted to hear that Matt has reintroduced the Crunch card and the points system.  Matt says:  “I worked in card technologies for years; I understand the importance of a loyalty card for a venue like Crunch.  A Crunch card wouldn’t work everywhere, but it works here, so it was very important to get this up and running again as soon as possible.”  Crunch will be giving new or replacement Crunch cards to any members of the LGBT community for free, just pop in and ask for one.
There are many plans for Crunch over the coming months.  Matt says:  “I am still adjusting to working shifts and sleeping through the day.  I want to get through Pride then properly look how both I and Crunch can contribute to the village as a whole.  I am keen to work with some of the other venues and businesses in the village, already I am launching a couple of new nights with Pop, but I have plenty other great ideas to bring more people back to the village as a whole.  In the meanwhile, you can pop into Crunch and say hi.”

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Published: 7-Aug-2012: (1474)