XX XX closes its doors after more than four years

Just when we haven’t moved on from all the places we lost this pandemic, we have to bid another goodbye. Today, hole-in-the-wall bar XX XX penned their farewell letter to everyone who kept the place alive.

“This time has come for us as well. After 4+ years, for all the obvious reasons, we are forced to close down our doors,” XX XX wrote on an Instagram post, coupled with a video that says, “Thank you for dancing with us.”

In the message, they thanked a long list of people, including everyone in the back-office, the bartenders, servers, technicians and security. “To our brand partners, who supported our vision and helped us make it a reality. To all the promoters, DJs, dancers, musicians, performers, artists, photographers, videographers and pop-ups that took part in our events,” they continued.

 

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The time has come for us as well. After 4+ years, for all the obvious reasons, we are forced to close our doors. We would like to thank the people behind the scenes—everyone in the back-office, our bartenders, servers, technicians and security. To our brand partners, who supported our vision and helped us make it a reality. To all the promoters, DJs, dancers, musicians, performers, artists, photographers, videographers and pop-ups that took part in our events. It was truly an experience working with you. Last but not least, we’d like to thank those who walked through our doors week in and week out. It has been a great ride filled with lovely memories of the smiles and good times on the dance floor with all of you. During these hard times for nightlife and culture, we hope that sooner rather than later things will return to normal, or perhaps even better. Goodbye for now. #ThankYouForDancingWithUs

A post shared by XX XX (@2020manila) on Aug 31, 2020 at 10:14pm PDT

Lastly, they thanked their guests “who walked through [their] doors week in and week out.” The speakeasy-slash-late night haunt in Chino Roces, Makati was home to lots of gigs, parties, workshops and even film screenings. It brought together friends and strangers in music, forming a community on the dancefloor. We owe our cathartic Friday nights to this place, along with the other spots we lost during this time.

“We hope that sooner rather than later things will return to normal, or perhaps even better. Goodbye for now,” XX XX ends their letter.

Photo by Jack Marion

Photo by Brendan Goco

Photo by Brendan Goco

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Header photos from Paolo Abad

Art by Jan Cardasto