The doors to what was once New Kingston's 'maddest' night spot, Asylum, have been slammed shut. Nite Time Promotions, owners and operators of the club, say the popular venue officially closed its doors on Tuesday.

"We have gone 12 prolific years - the average club life is two to three years. We have now gone four generations of club life. This is a great achievement," co-owner Brian 'Ribbi' Chung told Splash. He added, "There comes a time when you have to put closure to any club."

Chung, a pioneer in night time entertainment, successfully ran the Cactus night club in Portmore for what was considered eight glorious years, before opening Asylum, which many felt led to the ultimate demise of Cactus.

But for Chung, the story didn't read quite like that. "All great night clubs have a life cycle. Cactus did eight exciting years after which it was time to close. Its successor, Asylum surpassed, that. This closing makes way for the management of the club to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities based on the very dynamic entertainment industry presently in Jamaica," he said, sounding very upbeat.

When asked if patronage and clientele had fallen off, Chung explained that despite a recession Asylum still maintained three solid nights each week. Of his other club Quad, he hastily pointed out, "Quad is still there. Quad will always be the king of clubs."

CHUNG... All good things must come to an end but this also signals the start of something even more exciting

As for Asylum, the plan, Chung says is to rebrand the venue. "We will be fixing up the venue to use it as a rental for entertainment events. We have been talking to promoters, deejays and companies and we see that there is a market for venue rental," he said, but declined to give further details.

With regards to staff, some of whom have been with the company for over 15 years, Chung said there was a smooth transition and "some will be absorbed". 
In concluding, he stated, "All good things must come to an end but this also signals the start of something even more exciting."

According to a release, "Nite Time Promotions will eventually be reopening the venue at the opportune moment under a new name with a great new image. The space that formerly housed Asylum will now be available immediately for rental by the owners of the property. We wish to thank our extremely loyal patrons, staff, promoters, sponsors and all other partners that have shared the journey and the dream with us over the last 12 years."