A new club will soon take over the former O’Hara Music Club space.
While the people of Split had to painfully say goodbye to their beloved O’Hara Music Club last year, many should be delighted to find that a new club will soon be taking over the famous space.
After much speculation about what was actually going to happen with O’Hara (many believed it would turn into a new hotel), it has been confirmed that new owners from Slavonia will be transforming O’Hara into the new “Club Zenta”.
In an interview with Dalmatinski Portal on March 31, 2017, Slavonian owner Bruno Šestić-Rajic revealed his plans for Split’s newest attraction.
“The club will plan to open by mid-May if all work goes to plan and there are not any big surprises. We thought about the name a lot, and one option was Shakespeare, but we opted for something new and fresh. The working version of the name will be ‘Club Zenta’, and I think we’ll stick with that name because it somehow makes the most sense. Geographically, the location of the club should be made immediately clear to both domestic and foreign audiences, and it is important that we choose a name that is closely related to Split. Zenta is unique to Split and we found no clubs with that name. Split is an interesting city, and we’ve proposed a name that is authentic to Split, and for now we stand by that choice,” said Šestić-Rajic.
The program, according to Šestić-Rajic, should satisfy many tastes, and will host everything from mainstream hits to retro rock and underground techno. Because the club is spread over two floors, Šestić-Rajic hopes to have two different music programs for guests to enjoy. The new club hopes to keep the music traditions of O’Hara by introducing “Trash” nights, and the summer should see several open-air concerts which will be directed at both domestic and foreign audiences.
So, how will Club Zenta look?
“The location has been directing us to go towards a maritime theme with elements of ships and shipyards in an industrial style. Tanja Gotal and architect Gordan Cmrečak are responsible for the design, and we have been solving a lot of design questions on the fly because of the deadline we have for the implementation of the project. We are paying a lot of attention to the speakers and club lighting because we want our guests to have good sound and a good atmosphere,” he added.
The new club has plans to be open for coffee and small bites during the day, and whether the club will remain open for the winter season will be told with time.
“It’s still too early to say. We will certainly be open on weekends, and if need be, we will be open all other days as well. We are not afraid of work.”
And the real question: Why Split?
“We own a small family company that has been in business 15 years. We come from Slavonia where we own two hostels, a nightclub, and a hall for weddings. Our club Tufna in Osijek is led by my sister and father, and I came to Split to lead Zenta. Our club in Osijek is mainly oriented towards students and has three floors and three different programs. We plan to introduce a similar concept in Split. My father listens to house, my sister to rock, and I listen to techno and I believe that we will be able to have them all. We entered this project without a plan because the competition was short and we did not know what would come out of it – we had to make a decision in a few days and we hardly got to look at the space. O’Hara had a program very similar to our club Tufna and we said to ourselves, ‘Let’s do it!’ For now, we are happy with the reception and we have encountered very friendly and good people from the city administration to those at POŠK,” concluded Šestić-Rajic.
Club Zenta is inviting all citizens of Split to join them in this project. They are still in the process of putting together a team and a variety of positions are open including waiters, DJ’s, MC’s, promoters, and hostesses for both seasonal and permanent positions. If you’re interested you can contact the club at [email protected].
