'I took over a club months before Covid and ended up homeless'

The last couple of years have been hard for everyone working in the hospitality sector, but Covid has really taken its toll on one club and its visionary manager.

Hazel O'Keefe, who has been running events at Sackville Street's Tribeca for years, took over the club months before Covid – soon after she was homeless. The award-winning organiser, whose background is in community youth work, wanted to make the Gay Village venue 'a community centre as well as a club'.

She claims Tribeca is the only venue in Manchester that hosts loss-making alcohol-free events on a Saturday night – a hit among an Asian LGBT group. Describing itself as 'the only truly diverse venue in Manchester', the club next to Sackville Gardens hosts Hungarian, Romanian and Portuguese nights too.

READ MORE: Pop-up summer beer garden plans at old mill may be scuppered over health and safety

But the club now faces a month of closure as its licence is suspended for five weekends - from May 12 to June 11 - following reports of regular rule breaking. Manchester council 's licensing panel came 'very, very, very close' to revoking the club's licence, but councillors agreed to give the venue another chance after promises from its former boss that new managers would be brought in.

Lee Montgomery, who ran the club from 2010 to 2019, is still the owner as Hazel's plan to purchase the lease from him was paused due to the pandemic. Taking over in November 2019, Hazel - now aged 45 - had a vision of the club nights subsidising community events which 'make a significant difference'.

But months later, as Covid lockdowns came into force from the end of March 2020, the night-time economy across the country came to a sudden standstill. Government grants worth £3,200 a