Jeff Donnelly, founder and president of Donnelly Hospitality Management, was just named one of Business in Vancouver‘s 40 under 40. Through his various companies, Donnelly owns and runs four nightclubs, four pubs, and one restaurant in Vancouver, which reportedly do about $24 million in revenue a year.
Most recently, Donnelly opened much hyped Pop Opera, a downtown nightclub. Another big project that was completed last year was the revamping of the Lamplighter pub in Gastown.
These developments beg the question what the hell is going on with Bimini’s. None of the recent news articles about Donnelly’s nightlife empire mention the fact that Bimini’s burnt down well over a year ago and still hasn’t been rebuilt.
So why isn’t Bimini’s being rebuilt like the website has been promising for 15 months? There was some activity about a year ago, but I can’t remember the last time I saw someone in there.
Someone at the liquor store next door told me that it is unclear why they’re not rebuilding, but that apparently there’s some squabbling going on.
Although I’ve never been to Bimini’s, it’s sad to see this Kitsilano institution boarded up for so long. Especially when they are opening up flashy new places elsewhere.
