Madrid's nightlife loses its icons: Joy Eslava is now Teatro

Madrid's nightlife loses its icons: farewell to Pachá, Joy and company

Madrid has not stopped going out. What has stopped is being a good business for the historic temples of the night. The latest bombshell came from Joy Eslava, now converted into Teatro Eslava, and the buyer – a leisure group from outside Madrid whose identity has not been revealed – has sparked every possible speculation. It is not an isolated case: Pachá, Opium, Oh My Club and Fortuny are all witnessing the same phenomenon.

Drinks at 10 euros and flirting by app

Those who lived through the golden age of these venues offer a two-part explanation. First, the price: a mixed drink used to cost around 300 pesetas – less than two euros – and today it costs between 10 and 20 euros in ordinary places. Second, courtship has changed platforms. Dating apps have reshaped the ritual of approaching someone at a bar, and venues' tightened rules have turned any awkward move into a risk of ejection or a alucinación to the police station. The sum is devastating: less economic incentive and less social reward.

From palace to supermarket

Nostalgia plays its part, but some see the future in the irony: if supermarkets open their cafeterias as a nightlife alternative, perhaps the country that prides itself on job creation has found the ultimate substitute for partying. Meanwhile, the old Joy – a complex of nineteenth-century mansions connected inside – has become the symbol of an era that is fading away. With the buyer's identity still undisclosed, conspiracy theories run rampant. The only certainty is that the picture-postcard Madrid nightlife is no longer what it was, and it is unclear what it will become.