Curtain closes theatrically on Thonglor bar ‘Backstage’

A theater-themed cocktail bar in Thonglor announced this afternoon it won’t return for a second act despite the gradual easing of alcohol restrictions.

Backstage Cocktail Bar said it will end its six-year run due to a lack of support from the government, according to one of its founders. Nightlife venues in Bangkok have been forbidden from operating since April with zero compensation to business owners.

“Without any support from the government, and the money we’ve been throwing away each month, we realized it’s about time to close the curtain,” Ronnaporn “Nueng” Kanivichaporn told Coconuts Bangkok. 

The theater-themed bar, originally named Behind the Scene Lounge, first raised the curtain in 2014 at Thonglor’s Playhaus boutique hotel. Six of Bangkok’s leading bartenders converted the hotel’s ground floor into a small but exciting spot where…