Silom Soi 4 closing seen imminent

[reader]

Based on a tip from @10tazione, I was able to confirm that some shops on Silom Soi 4 are looking for new quarters because the sale of the parcel now seem imminent . Although no hard date was mentioned, it’s understood that proprietors are already eyeing available space in Patpong and elsewhere. One source said it was at least a year or more out while a rumor of an earlier date was also circulating. 

However, a blogger claims that developers have their eyes set on Patpong with both parcels being folded into a larger project but with a considerably longer time frame.

[spoon]

Geez. If both soi 4 and patpong got sold... No more reason to go to silom 

[vinapu]

all we can do is wait and see , hoping venues will find new spaces. Who knows , perhaps we will see resurrected  fortunes of soi where short lived New Twilight was and Nature Boys still is

[jason1975]

34 minutes ago, vinapu said:

all we can do is wait and see , hoping venues will find new spaces. Who knows , perhaps we will see resurrected  fortunes of soi where short lived New Twilight was and Nature Boys still is

That is a possible location!

[bkkmfj2648]

12 hours ago, spoon said:

Geez. If both soi 4 and patpong got sold... No more reason to go to silom 

First they came to close the wonderful soi Twilight and I was told to not live in the past, and I did not speak up,

Then they closed the exciting Babylon sauna and I was told to visit the other saunas, and I did not speak up,

Then they came to remove the street vendors because the BMA said that Bangkok needs to be more like Singapore and I was told to eat in the many food courts, and I did not speak up,

Now they are coming to shut down Silom soi 4 and both Patpongs --> and after this awful news there will be noone left to speak in any of these former venues to speak up for my want of a vibrant gay life in Bangkok......

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came

 

 

[Patanawet]

Well, my info from an owner is that they have been promised at least 3 more annual leases by 'the family'.

[Patanawet]

Over the years there have been these type of rumours.
I've even seen surveyors measuring up the soi a few years ago.

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

First they came to close the wonderful soi Twilight and I was told to not live in the past, and I did not speak up,

 

 

quite possible it was me 

as for closing Patpong , relax , if and when it happens it may be entirely irrelevant for you and many of us , oldies.

Getting old has some advantages , main one no need to worry about Bangkok sinking into the sea, Patpong or not,  in year 2431 

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, Patanawet said:

Well, my info from an owner is that they have been promised at least 3 more annual leases by 'the family'.

not to dispute what you said but similar promises were voiced when soi Twilight was about to close  

[vinapu]

57 minutes ago, Patanawet said:

Over the years there have been these type of rumours.
I've even seen surveyors measuring up the soi a few years ago.

haze and smoke, those were shy Jupiter bound  customers dressed as surveyors

[Patanawet]

22 minutes ago, vinapu said:

haze and smoke, those were shy Jupiter bound  customers dressed as surveyors

Yes, maybe they were rehearsing  a Village People routine --- oh no, it wasn't that long ago.

[reader]

No matter when this finally occurs, it was inevitable as these two parcels represent the most valuable real estate asset in Bangkok’s business district. A forward thinking developer would most likely make accommodation for the Patpong Night Market. It has become such a tourist magnet that it would be foolhardy not to. 

And I can see venues like Jupiter, and maybe even Stranger Bar, also being included because they would attract international spenders with high disposable income to the new development, demonstrating Thailand’s much heralded “soft power.”

Certainly the restaurant bars could compete for a spot if they can make the rent.

Foodland saw this coming and already secured a new foothold in the Park Silom building across the way. But I can also envision it opening another space, along with the Took Lae Dee restaurant. 

As for the boy bars, they’ll have to find new homes. One promising location mentioned above behind Mango Tree is a bit off the beaten path but it may prove ideal. There’s already four gay venues on the soi. 

It will prove somewhat tricky timing the moves. If you relocate too soon, you may miss out on another year or two in your current, profitable venue. But wait too long and you forgo the choicest properties. And in any case, you don’t want to be last man standing. 

Just as the closing of Twilight was not the end of the boy bar scene, neither will this be.

[reader]

As I mull over other possible relocation sites, it strikes me that Silom Soi 6 could be in the mix. At the moment, it’s bordering on being over populated with six massage shops. And there’s the adjoining soi (Silom 8?) where the Nantra hotel is located that intersects it. 

[Department_Of_Agriculture]

Before every queen starts clutching her pearls at the prospect of Soi 4 and Patpong being torn down, you should perhaps stop to consider the credibility of the claim of imminent destruction. Here we have a reader who is a habitual poster of all manner of nonsense telling us “Silom Soi 4 closing seen imminent”, supposedly “based on a tip" from another reader. We are further told that “however, a blogger claims that developers have their eyes set on Patpong”, without even being told which blogger it is so that we can evaluate the accuracy of the said blogger’s claims by looking at what other claims he has made on his/its blog.

As far as that reader actually having any insight of his own into what goes on in the Silom/Patpong area, do bear in mind that this is the same joker who told us in September 2024 that “A reliable source reports that Good Boy bar (formerly Screw Boy) is giving serious consideration to relocating to the site last occupied by SOL bar (and its short-lived successor) opposite Hot Male's Midnight bar on Patpong 2.”

Of course we all know how that turned out. Screw Boy didn’t move, while it is Atlas that now occupies that location.

Also, bear in mind that the rumours of Soi 4 and Patpong being simultaneously taken-over and redeveloped have been going-on since at least the middle of the last decade. Here we have Stickman reporting in 2018:  

Something is going on at Patpong and some business owners in Bangkok’s oldest bar area are worried. And it’s not just in Patpong where business owners are concerned, but the wider area. What is going on in Patpong and its surrounds?

The worry was magnified when word got out that bars were being offered just one-year leases…

The first sign that something was up came a few years ago when word leaked from the Patpong Group about a so-called new development. That was all anyone knew – two words: new development. No details, not much of anything, everything pure conjecture, but worrying nonetheless.

But it was not just Patpong. Across the wider area, other business owners reported that they too had only been offered one-year leases. The rumour mill went in to overdrive.

The next soi up Silom Road from Patpong is Silom soi 4. It has long been known as a gay soi – though these days it is more a dining soi than a gay pickup area. All the bars and restaurants in Silom soi 4 are now on one-year leases too. And it is believed these are one-year leases with no extension clause. So what that means is that as it currently stands, businesses in Silom soi 4 have leases through until December 31st, 2019 with no guarantee that they will be able to run their business from their current location beyond then.

One Silom soi 4 restaurant changed hands in the last month for just a million baht. Based on the numbers it was doing, you would have been expected it to go for several times that. Both the seller and the buyer are well aware of the short leases and the shadow hanging over the area – and that is attributed as the reason for the low price it changed hands for.
See: https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2018/11/whats-going-on-at-patpong/

None of this means that it won’t happen at some point. Just because this reader habitually posts nonsense doesn’t mean it won’t  happen After all, even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day. It is inevitable that Patpong will be redeveloped at some point. That land is too valuable to be given over permanently to go go bars and, in any event, the pandemic and years of neglect have resulted in many of those properties now lying empty. 

Does that mean that the closure of Patpong, let alone of Soi 4, is imminent? No. Closure, after all, has been “imminent” for a decade now.  The fact that the fat Australian queen who owns Pride has been flogging his bars on Soi 4 may be a sign that something is up, but as noted in that Stickman article, business owners on Soi 4 were flogging their bars and restaurants or relocating even nearly a decade ago in the belief that closure was imminent.

When redevelopment eventually does happen, it will not mark the end of Silom/Patpomg as the main gay area for foreigners though – because the bars have nowhere else to go. The Patpong Entertainment Area - which goes beyond the narrow confines of Patpong 1 and 2 - is one of the three officially designated entertainment zones in Bangkok, along with RCA and Ratchada. These were designated during Thaksin’s time as PM. Take note that Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are not officially designated entertainment zones and it is not possible to open new bars there. All supposedly new bars there are simply trading on old bar licences that they have bought - i.e. bought and rebranded old bars. With RCA itself now set for redevelopment and Ratchada too out of the way for foreigners, the gay bars will have to stay in that section of Silom.  

While the Patpong entertainment area was designated, its boundaries are not formally defined. However, it is generally accepted by the police to begin at Rama IV Road and run to Decho Road from right to left and from Surawong Road to Silom Road from top to bottom. Obtaining a bar licence within that grid is easy and venues within have generally been allowed to operate to very late hours. That is why, for example, Screw Boy was, traditionally, able to stay open long after the Soi Twilight bars closed. The gay bars won’t be leaving that area.

There is no shortage of space within that grid – there is space on Thaniya 2, on Soi Wall Street and in the Soi 6 area, particularly on Anumanrajadorn where the Golden Cock is located – including the former Golden Cock building itself and the venues on the lane where Super A is. In times past, you had bars like Super Lex, Mamasan and King Diamond there on that lane. The only problem with Soi 6 is its distance from Soi 2. Right now, the proximity works nicely, creating a rather nice buzz. Then again, maybe some distance between the off bars and the gay social venues may not be such a bad thing. However, worrying about where bars may eventually end-up in the event that redevelopment actually happens is pointless. They aren’t going to be going very far. You may have to walk or waddle a little further than you do now, but that is hardly going to be the end of the world – and, no, nothing seems imminent.

 

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

None of this means that it won’t happen at some point. Just because this reader habitually posts nonsense doesn’t mean it won’t  happen After all, even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day. It is inevitable that Patpong will be redeveloped at some point. That land is too valuable to be given over permanently to go go bars and, in any event, the pandemic and years of neglect have resulted in many of those properties now lying empty. 

This long winded bullshit post, calling another post bullshit is amazing.....seeing that you say almost the same thing 🙄

 

2 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

there is space on Thaniya 2, on Soi Wall Street and in the Soi 6 area, particularly on Anumanrajadorn where the Golden Cock is located – including the former Golden Cock building itself and the venues on the lane where Super A is

And continue to speculate to where they will go, wtf is wrong with you....

Have you lost interest in my ass,,,,😭

Btw, I'll be in Thailand soon, want to meet for a drink..... we can exchange sarcasms and digs... my dry/sarcastic  humor is better in person 🤓

[reader]

@Department_Of_Agriculture (aka, Dead_On_Arrival) said:

”We are further told that “however, a blogger claims that developers have their eyes set on Patpong”, without even being told which blogger it is so that we can evaluate the accuracy of the said blogger’s claims by looking at what other claims he has made on his/its blog.’

From Bangkokseven.com

What’s up mingemongers and moneyhoneys, my name’s Seven and this is my weekly confession.

On Sunday I slid into G’s German for his signature spare ribs, which were out of this world. Guido broke the news that he’d most likely move permanently to Ptown at the end of the year. ‘Twas another sad reminder that nothing good stays forever. Big G also shared news he’d heard from a group of new investors, who want to move in on the Pong. They will turn it into a modern high-rise similar to Park Silom, with hip restaurants, offices, etc. sometime in the next three to four years. So Patpong’s days are numbered, same as G’s.

https://bangkokseven.com/redlight-diary-16-2-25-patpongs-numbered-days/

[Department_Of_Agriculture]

15 hours ago, reader said:

From Bangkokseven.com

What’s up mingemongers and moneyhoneys, my name’s Seven and this is my weekly confession.

Bangkok Seven doesn't know his arse from his elbow. That fat clown showed-up in Bangkok a couple of years before Covid and started a blog trying to sound like a Patpong insider when, in fact, he barely knew the history of the area, the owners or the ownership. The fat clown had no idea even what Cosmos was all about while trying to blog like a pro - very much like a certain obese reader on this forum. If that is your source, I rest my case.

With regards to the bars and "speculating where they will go", as I said

18 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

worrying about where bars may eventually end-up in the event that redevelopment actually happens is pointless. They aren’t going to be going very far.

There is no speculation about where they will go, or recommendations on where they should go. I have simply pointed-out that they won't be going far, regardless of where they end-up. The application of licensing laws mean that they will stay in that grid and there is no shortage of places for them to relocate. Therefore, the fears that led to comments such as Spoon's quote below are quite unfounded. The  bars aren't going anywhere "imminently" and they aren't going to be going very far even in the future.

On 3/1/2025 at 9:47 PM, spoon said:

Geez. If both soi 4 and patpong got sold... No more reason to go to silom 

Don't worry. There will be plenty of reasons to keep visiting Silom.

[reader]

1 hour ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

Bangkok Seven doesn't know his arse from his elbows. That fat clown showed-up in Bangkok a couple of years before Covid..

What a coincidence, DOA. You showed up on the scene here AFTER Covid. 🤗

1 hour ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

There is no speculation about where they will go, or recommendations on where they should go. I have simply pointed-out that they won't be going far, regardless of where they end-up. The application of licensing laws mean that they will stay in that grid and there is no shortage of places for them to relocate. Therefore, the fears that led to comments such as Spoon's quote below are quite unfounded. The  bars aren't going anywhere "imminently" and they aren't going to be going very far even in the future.

Wow. That certainly sounds like speculation by any measure. 😅

1 hour ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

Don't worry. There will be plenty of reasons to keep visiting Silom.

Thanks for mimicking my conclusion. 🤗

22 hours ago, reader said:

Just as the closing of Twilight was not the end of the boy bar scene, neither will this be.

 

[khaolakguy]

1 hour ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

Bangkok Seven doesn't know his arse from his elbow. That fat clown showed-up in Bangkok a couple of years before Covid and started a blog trying to sound like a Patpong insider when, in fact, he barely knew the history of the area, the owners or the ownership.

My source, who is neither fat nor a clown, advised that numerous Soi 4 bar keepers were looking at the empty premises on Patpong Two for the future. It could get quite competitive when the evacuation from Soi 4 starts processing. There will be a tipping point when it stops being an attractive destination and those left..........

[Department_Of_Agriculture]

2 hours ago, reader said:

Thanks for mimicking my conclusion

No, sugar puff. Your conclusion was that the closure of Soi 4 is imminent - which is complete and total rubbish that you pinched from a C-grade blog.

That was your conclusion.

Just one more example of the nonsense that you regularly post on here.

[a-447]

1 hour ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

Your conclusion was that the closure of Soi 4 is imminent -...

Actually, I don't think that was reader's conclusion at all.

Did you not see the word "seem" (sic) in his OP?

I tend to take anything I hear from a Thai with a grain of salt. In my experience, they love to gossip or they want us to think that they have some kind of inside information.

I remember the fiasco around the closure of Soi Twilight. I got a different story from just about everyone I spoke to working in the various beer bars and gogo bars. The soi was supposedly on the verge of closing, it was never going to close, the closure was years away........

There was a sign at the mouth of the soi telling us punters that the soi would be open for another year.

Then it suddenly closed!

The only people who really know what's happening are the developers -people to whom we do not have access.

Best just wait and see.

 

[reader]

2 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

No, sugar puff.

I see you've moved on from me.... not sure if I should be happy, sad or lucky .   Let me know where we're meeting, April 1st...and it's not an April's fool prank.


 

 

2 hours ago, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

Just one more example of the nonsense that you regularly post on here.

I think we all prefer  Reader's vast contributions vs your paltry 87 rude and pompous ones 👍

[Patanawet]

On 3/2/2025 at 11:35 PM, Department_Of_Agriculture said:

All the bars and restaurants in Silom soi 4 are now on one-year leases too. And it is believed these are one-year leases with no extension clause.

 

As I have informed before, ALL premises on soi 4 are and ALWAYS HAVE been on one year leases.
Why are you suggesting that this is something new?

[Department_Of_Agriculture]

55 minutes ago, Patanawet said:

As I have informed before, ALL premises on soi 4 are and ALWAYS HAVE been on one year leases.
Why are you suggesting that this is something new?

What a silly little post.

The world didn’t begin when you signed-up on this site, Nor did leases on Soi 4 didn’t begin when you signed-up on this site

If you had actually read what I posted before posting your “response”, you would see that have I have not suggested that one year leases are something new and that in fact, I have not suggested anything at all. That was a quote from Stickman from back in 2018 – before you signed-up on this site.

So yes, the Soi 4 venues have “always” been on one year leases for as long as you have been on this site to share with us the remarkable knowledge and insight that you have gained while travelling to Thailand for discounted sodomy.