A Mount Allison student is finalizing plans to open a queer friendly nightclub in Moncton, after getting bitten by the entrepreneurship bug during her time at Mount A.
Arianna Roach is a student in Commerce and Women and Gender Studies, attending part time this year, so that she can make time to work on her new business, ARIS Nightclub, which she plans to have open in time for Pride Month in June.
Roach says that after seeing promotions for The Pitch, a Dragon’s Den style competition put on by Venture Space Mt A, she enquired about the school’s entrepreneurship programs, and was told her first step was to come up with an idea. So she asked herself what was missing in her world.
“I had just turned 19, and I was looking for bars to go to for myself,” she recalls. Since the closure of Pink Flamingos in Moncton in 2021, the city had been without a gay bar. “I took that idea and rolled with that,” says Roach.
Non-queer folks often don’t realize the importance of a safe and welcoming LGBTQ+ social space, says Roach, but after a year and a half working on pitching ARIS Nightclub, she’s getting pretty good at explaining it.
“It’s almost like when guys get together for a football game, or girls get together for a wine night or whatever,” explains Roach. “You like to be with your community, people who are like you, share the same ideas, experiences, opinions.”
“It just feels good to be with people who are like you,” says Roach. “If you don’t have a space, and it feels like you don’t have a community, there’s a feeling of isolation.”
Roach is planning a variety of events for the new club, and says she’s often approached with new ideas for the space. She’s looking forward to providing a home for drag events in Moncton, and hosting everything from trivia to Sapphic nights to get-togethers for queer parents. She’s even been approached by someone interested in hosting a dry night for the Christian LGBTQ community.
Mount Allison’s queer community also figures into her planning. “There’s a big population of LGBTQ folks on campus,” says Roach. She has reached out to Catalyst Mt A to work on possible transportation options to and from ARIS Nightclub for an event bringing together Mount Allison and Université de Moncton students.
‘Everything kind of changed’
When she arrived at Mount Allison, Roach’s plan had been to simply get some credits and then move on to university in Montreal. “Then everything kind of changed once I found my passion for entrepreneurship and business,” says Roach.
Between the workshops on offer and a $10,000 internship grant to give her time to work on her business plans over the summer, Roach says Mount Allison has helped her lay the groundwork for the new business. She still makes use of the Entrepreneur in Residence program, and hopes to make another live pitch during Mount Allison’s The Pitch competition this month.
The next step to make ARIS Nightclub a reality is closing the sale on a downtown Moncton building. After looking for places to lease in the city for about six months, Roach realized that a commercial mortgage was the best way to find an affordable space, and so she’s been learning the ropes of the commercial real estate business. With the building deal expected to close in April, Roach plans to open as soon as possible in late spring/early summer, at least in time for Pride Month in June.
Roach has also launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe, offering passes and amenities for the club to those willing to back it in advance.
You can find out more about ARIS Nightclub on Instagram at arisnightclub.
