index
history of the
BABY GRAND
The Baby Grand nightclub was located at 674 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. A survey of old Sands & Mc Dougall directories reveals the different businesses that once operated at this address on Mt Alexander Rd, including milliners, dressmakers, boot repairers and engineers.
Timeline of businesses at 674 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds
August 1989 - November 2003
In 1989 the Baby Grand started up as a Piano Bar, and over the next 14 years became a very popular nightclub. John the owner didn't realize what he was getting into, but he did succeed beyond his expectations. There were a lot of people in the area needing a place to go and just relax after a hard days work and there were a lot of single people in the area.
When you first entered through the front door you
were always greeted with a smile from Pato (the head security guard) and the
lovely lady in the ticket room. The bar was on your left hand side as you
entered, where you would see Marcus, the main bar man,
who never forgot anyone's name and always had a positive word to say.
From there you entered the
main room where the band played in the back left corner in front of the dance
floor and all down the right side was the main bar. The DJ was on the right
side upstairs. You could always find John the owner at the end of the bar; and
his daughter Sarah, working the main long bar,
was just like her dad with her friendly smile.
In the early days men wore suits and women dressed
well. They had one TV in the entrance bar and five inside the main room
with all the latest video clips to watch. They were played all
through the night and it gave people something to watch if they didn't like
dancing.
From the time Pato opened the front door and welcomed you in, you knew you
belonged somewhere. He made you feel safe and kept the place well run. When I first went to the Baby Grand I met up with a friend of mine who
was a regular. On my first night I met this guy call Jack who was travelling
overseas. It was strange, it felt like there was no one else in the
room. I didn't know how empty my life was until I met him.
In the beginning I was going there both Friday and Saturday nights
and it sure was the place to be. You could have a laugh and break life's boring or stagnant
times. I like to dance and it provided that, it was like going to a dance
each week. The music was
great and so were some of the bands that played there. We would dance
and drink all night. Like most night clubs it was whatever you wanted it to be. I met
quite a few people there. The patrons came
from all walks of life and also came from all destinations. There was a variety of
ages and no one felt left out. I specifically liked the way people treated you, no matter who you were, you felt welcomed, so I kept going there.
The bar manager, Marcus was warm and a wonderful person to talk
to. Marcus was also a great
designer of clothing and I'm sure he is going very well with it. I was sad to
see him leave as he always put a smile on my face.
In the the first 9 years the Baby Grand was open from Wednesday till Sunday from 5pm-3am.
After that it was only open Friday & Saturday from 9pm-4am and public
holidays, e.g. long weekends etc.
There a variety of people coming through including celebrities and
footballers. It was especially busy after Melbourne cup when all the people came after the races.
They also came from weddings, parties etc. so the place was always busy. There were
a lot of couples who met at the Baby Grand and
later got married and also had their hens nights there. My sister also used to
go there and actually met her husband there. They now have a beautiful baby
girl.
Like most places you become familiar
and are able to move around and talk freely and feel like you are at home. The
venue changed once in a while but most of the time it was catching up with old
friends and having a drink or a chat. If women were upset I always told them that if
men had brains they would be called women and that brought a smile to their
faces. At the time there were no other nightclubs
around and it was the place to be. The local people had somewhere to
go.
One of my fondest memories of the Baby Grand was after my son burnt my house down. I was at the Baby Grand that night and when I came home I was lucky to find my son had crawled out the window. A few months later I went out to the Baby Grand and everyone had seen me on TV, asking how I was and offering me help. So many lovely people from the Baby Grand offered me furniture and house hold items that I had no place to put them. I remember telling them that I knew you come into this world with nothing and you leave with nothing but you don't expect to be still in this world with nothing. It made me realise that without friendships you really have nothing.
It's sad to see it finally closed and most people have a collection of good and bad memories of the place, but isn't that like any relationship. When I started going there it quickly felt like I was in my own lounge room. It was a place where you could go to and talk with people. I think in life we all at one stage, need someone to talk to and the Baby Grand certainly provided us with that.
Author : Effie Serour
