Funky Monkey, The Chillest Club Gżira Ever Saw, Is About To Close Its Doors
If you are interested in hip hop, indie bands, French electro, the World Cup, or general chilling, chances are you’ve spent an evening or two at the Funky Monkey, a laidback bar on Manoel Island. Unfortunately, as beloved as the place is, the infamous chill-out zone is about to close down sooner than expected.
The Gżira boċċi club-turned-music venue renowned for its lax atmosphere, ample parking, and central-yet-still-kinda-hidden-away location made it the perfectly-place bar for a burgeoning expat and iGaming community that was forming on the outskirts of Sliema and St Julians.
Run by an eclectic German man named Ferry who was as outspoken as he was hands-on, the club quickly became the place-of-choice for the alternative scene in Malta, as well as people who sought a laidback atmosphere to have a drink and a smoke somewhere that wasn’t all the way in the south like the beloved Zion.
However, the club could shutter its doors as early as the first week of January 2019
Rumours have been swirling as to the exact date of the closing, and nothing’s been confirmed yet.
Events are usually scheduled on the club’s Facebook page; however, while there are events every week until January, the last event is set for January 8th, with nothing planned following that date.
Manoel Island is set to be changed completely in 2019 as the MIDI consortium begins to develop the island
Ferry Jehle, the Funky Monkey’s owner, had told Lovin Malta early in 2018 that his club was about to be booted out due to the new luxury development.
“We still don’t have all the details, but yes, the likelihood is there will no longer be any room for The Funky Monkey as luxury apartments go up on Manoel Island,” he had said.
One person involved in the club industry in Malta said the club could close later this week
However, this seems unlikely due to the fact that Funky Monkey still has events lined up for this very weekend.
Questions sent by Lovin Malta to the management remained unanswered, but one thing is for sure – clubs aiming to lure the alternative scene through their doors will have learnt a trick or three from the former Gżira boċċi club that quickly turned into an alternative watering hole.