Court Hotel, Perth: Colourful nightclub owner’s bizarre ‘test’ for straight men who try to enter his gay venue

An ex-bar owner has shared the hilarious way he ‘tested’ his customers before allowing them into his gay venue – by asking straight men to kiss.

Malcom Day owned The Court Hotel in Perth between 2005 and 2016 and was a big supporter of keeping the space LGBTQIA+ friendly.

“I used to get tired of going to places that said they were ‘gay friendly’ – we’d put up a sign saying ‘straight friendly’,” Mr Day said. PerthNow.

‘We used to have groups of alpha males come by and say, ‘Let us in.’ I’d stand there with security and say, ‘We can’t let a big group of straight guys in,’ and they’d say, ‘We’re gay friendly,’ and I’d say, ‘Okay, french kiss!’

The 64-year-old believes his ex-wife Bree Maddox is responsible for turning the club into a largely heterosexual venue when she sold it to Australian Venue Co last month.

“I bought The Court Hotel in 2004. I had it for 11 and a half years and did a lot of renovations,” Mr Day said.

He said he was disappointed the site was sold following the more than $10 million separation agreement in 2016, which saw him transfer ownership to Ms Maddox.

“When I got it, I said, ‘Honey, we gotta keep it gay and lesbian’ – for a few reasons,” he added.

Mr Day is a big supporter of keeping the Court Hotel LGBTQIA+ friendly and blames his ex-wife Bree Maddox for the pub becoming a largely heterosexual venue

The pub was purchased in 2005 for $4.15 million

‘Yet they come every week. It’s their location. As soon as you change it, they go somewhere else.

“It’s not a good long-term business model.”

The couple originally paid $4.15 million for the pub in 2005 and spent about $3 million on renovations.

Ms Maddox will become an advisor to the company in the sales agreement with Australian Venue Co, as The Court joins the list of more than 200 venues across the country.