Help get KB02 Venue Hire out of intensive care

Before I start with our story, please, if you have not done so already, watch our video, it was put together by some really talented people who did it to help support KB02, they have asked me not to name them, but I must say a big thank you anyway to Carolyn, Nathan, Kevin, Daniel, William, Yvonne, Wendy and Stella who all contributed.

At precisely 6.20 pm on 15th March 2020, I made the heart wrenching decision to close down my business. At that time, the Government were suggesting rather than confirming that attending large public gatherings was being seen as a risk.

I was of the belief that if I waited to be officially told to stop trading, I would be covered by an ‘interruption insurance’, but the word ‘risk’ is paramount to me. I therefore closed my venue immediately, rather than be responsible for putting my staff and future customers in any kind of danger.

I was fully aware that by doing this I would be forfeiting any insurance cover but then again, I needed to be able to sleep at night

At the close of business on 15th March, I had £28,000 of deposits and prepayments, securing 168 party bookings up until January 2021 ‘Happy days’ some may say, however to be in a position to take those bookings, I had committed the business to rental payments and utility bills and staff wages to name just a few costs. I was determined that anyone who wanted or needed a full refund could have one – no questions asked (unlike many other businesses who were forcing their customers to re-book or re-schedule, as had happened to me with British Airways). I also felt responsible for my staff and other businesses that rely on the venue for income of their own.

As a result, I have been working tirelessly and borrowed all that I could to ensure that I was able to reimburse everyone AND be in a position to hopefully come back stronger than before. Even with everything I have managed to achieve, the future is rocky and it will take years to repay the loans.

I have talked about the past – now to the future.

First of all I would like to shout out to Enfield Council and London Growth Hub, in particular Patricia Ashford who helped and advised and listened and understood, Barclays Bank and GC Finance for their financial support, and the Mayor of London for this initiative.   

It is a fact that we cannot simply ‘re-open’ – nothing is the same anymore.  The question is ‘how can we incorporate offering a family celebration venue with social distancing and strict safety rules.   Believe me we are trying but this is proving to be both challenging and expensive.

Nevertheless, the KB02 staff are an amazing fully committed, loyal team of friends and together we will BUILD BACK BETTER, or at the very least go down fighting with everything we have.

So what are we asking from you?

We are asking you to help us on the road to recovery. You know the truth; you know the facts and you know the problems we are facing.  By showing your support and pre-booking a ‘We Made It Through Coronavirus’ party or any of the other ideas listed, you will be helping us to secure the future of a much loved family facility that will be better equipped and better able to safely serve the local and wider community for many years to come, you will also be giving us a real psychological push towards the light at the end of our own particular tunnel.

With your support and the nod from Boris, we hope to be there ready and waiting to help family and friends get together again. We then aspire to be a safe, quirky, unique, social hub where any kind of celebration can take place, starting with simple family get togethers to corporate team building and from kids birthday parties to stag/hen nights to gender reveals and music nights and just about anything in between.

Below is just the start of our plans, all the best and stay safe, but please follow us on instagram and facebook @kb02venue and @kb02events, these platforms will be updated regularly, with latest improvements, many projects are coming to an end soon and pictures will be posted, our new bar operators DJW are nearly finished on the new easy ordering system and the new space themed bar is looking awesome. 

(re-inventing what was once the kitchen into a games room where people can socially distance, the end result is stunning, it'll be posted to our socials soon)

We need to do whatever is necessary to keep the staff protected and not just pay lip service to social distancing, (which is likely to be around for quite some time) but actually be able to offer a family celebration event venue that will allow social distancing to be fun, this as mentioned before is proving to be very challenging and expensive, please help us ensure that we not only achieve this, but by supporting us, you too can have something to look forward to by pre booking a “We Made It Through Quarantine Party” or a “Family and Friends Social Distancing Party” or any of the other offerings that are listed.

All the best and stay safe, the rewards being offered are just the start of our plans.

HOW CAN WE MAKE IT SAFE?

 - A new Entry and Exit system

- Everyone must sanitise their hands with the gel provided on entry

- Markings on the floor to remind people of social distancing.

- Plexiglass sections for the more vulnerable if needed.

- Hand sanitisers stationed throughout the building.

- Seating spread to the perimeters creating more space

- A robust cleaning and disinfecting schedule

- Queue less bar ordering for the safety of our customers and also our staff.

- Collection points for drinks and snacks

Whether you want to do battle on our very own dance machine, have fun on our interactive wall, or find out who has the strongest punch on our punch bag machine or just have fun on the three retro video game consoles, we've got you covered, you may prefer Table Tennis, Table Football or even just a game of connect 4 we will put as many things on offer as we can.

On top of all this we still have our 3 level soft play frame ready and waiting once guidance is available for us to follow. 

BOOK NOW and help us to get this business out of intensive care and into the high dependancy ward and set us on our way to full recovery.