Oriole to shut in December

Edmund Weil and Roisin Stimpson, founders of London-based Speakeasy Entertainment, will close their award-winning jazz club and cocktail bar Oriole at the end of this year.

The company has come to a surrender deal with the City of London Corporation due to the ongoing redevelopment of Smithfield Market and the Museum of London.

Oriole will close after New Year’s Eve, with the hope of relocating the bar to a new, central location in summer 2023.

Weil and Stimpson, who opened Oriole in 2015, said: ‘’It has been a bittersweet moment for us because Oriole has been the jewel in the crown of Speakeasy Entertainment and, whilst it has been trading really well, this gives us the opportunity to relocate to a place that is a little more suitable for our offering.

“We want to be able to shift the spotlight to our food offering due to the success of our Dinner and Show proposition, whilst still cherishing our iconic cocktails.

“Oriole was the second venue we ever opened and it has been amazing to see our Oriole fly the nest and grow into the success it has been. We see this as a real opportunity to improve things.’’

Speakeasy Entertainment is said to have taken all things into account when making this decision, which they say ‘was not made lightly’, with the hope of retaining key staff members for the new site and bringing them on as employee shareholders.

This business model has been hugely successful with the Swift bars, founded in collaboration with Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson, which this month opened its third venue in London Bridge.

Speakeasy Entertainment is the team behind the award-winning Nightjar, and Nightjar Carnaby, which opened earlier this year.

Oriole debuted its latest menu this summer, which draws on the migration patterns and habitats of its avian namesake.