London’s Oriole bar forced to close due to Smithfield Market redevelopment

City jazz club and speakeasy bar Oriole has announced it has been forced to close at the end of the year due to the ongoing redevelopment of Smithfield Market and the relocation of the Museum of London.

New Years Eve is set to be the bar’s last night open for the foreseeable future. Edmund Weil and Roisin Stimpson, founders of Oriole’s parent company Speakeasy Entertainment, have come to a surrender deal with The Corporation of London due to the ongoing redevelopment of Smithfield market and the Museum of London.

Oriole’s owners have plans to relocate the jazz club and cocktail bar to a new central location in 2023.

Founders of Speakeasy Entertainment Weil and Stimpson called the announcement a “bittersweet moment for us”, describing Oriole as “the jewel in the crown of Speakeasy Entertainment”.

They added: “Whilst it has been trading really well, this gives us the opportunity to relocate to a place that is a little more suitable for our offering.”

Its founders are planning to “shift the spotlight to our food offering due to the success of our Dinner and Show offering, whilst still cherishing our iconic cocktails”.

Weil and Stimpson are already in the process of finding a new location for the bar, and plan to bring on Oriole’s bar manager and general manager as employee shareholders in the new site, following the success of this model with Speakeasy Entertainment’s Swift Bars, founded in collaboration with Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson.

In their joint statement, Weil and Stimpson said: “Oriole was the second venue we ever opened and it has been amazing to see our Oriole fly the nest and grow into the success it has been. We see this as a real opportunity to improve things.’’

Speakeasy Entertainment is also responsible for London’s Swift Bars and speakeasy Nightjar, which was set to open a second site earlier this year.