Blue Grotto owners to open nightclub in former Cactus Jack’s location – Kamloops This Week

A new nightclub will soon open in the former Cactus Jacks location downtown, with the owners of the Blue Grotto reinventing a classic downtown nightlife destination.

Grotto owners David "Pup" Johnston and Sherri King are behind the venture at Lansdowne Street and Fifth Avenue.

King said she wants to create a safe and fun environment.

"We have such a diverse community and I'd like to expand on that," she said.

The new club, called Nightshift on Fifth, will be a bit different from CJs, turning to the Top 40 charts for nightly music and holding special culture-inspired events like Desi and Latino nights, appealing to international students attending Thompson Rivers University.

King said the club will have an industrial steampunk theme.

Johnston said the venture came about quickly, with the couple taking over the lease of the building and opening in a matter of months. The hope is to open at the end of August. With a liquor licence and the lease signed, all that's left to do is some remodelling including a new sign and a revamped interior.

"Kamloops is a little bit of an industrial town, so it's going to be kind of industrial, or steam punk, inside," Johnston said.

Johnston said he was approached a few times to take over the lease, but wasn't interested until recently, with nightlife returning and venues open without interruption.

"Not to sound altruistic, but I don't know if we're really doing this for us. I think we're doing this for Kamloops, he said. Not trying to pump my own tires, but there's a larger population moving into the downtown core and there's a lack of diverse nightlife here.

The Blue Grotto, just two blocks away at 319 Victoria St., is an age 21-plus club that focuses on live music mostly rock 'n' roll. The new club will cater to a slightly younger crowd, down to B.C.'s legal drinking age of 19.

Trying not to focus on hip-hop, rap and trance, Johnston said the club will rely on a house DJ playing pop music. He said other clubs, such as the Commodore at 369 Victoria St., may cater to other types of music.

Johnston said he's not trying to step on anyone's toes with the move.

"We've had a great working relationship for, well ... the Grotto has been here for 17 years and I've had it for almost five," Johnston said, adding that he and his wife have a combined 55 years in the nightlife industry.

"Losing the previous owner, that was a major blow for that name, for that Cactus Jacks brand. You can't recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Rob Medves," Johnston told KTW.

Medves owned the club until his death in 2015. The club continued to operate until 2018, when it was set to close before Jordan Landry stepped in.

The attempt to revive Cactus Jacks proved to be too much once the pandemic arrived.

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Blue Grotto owners to open nightclub in former Cactus Jack's location - Kamloops This Week