It’s a sad day when any venue closes, but Hockley Social Club isn’t just any venue. From the team behind Digbeth Dining Club, it’s been the beating heart of Birmingham’s street food scene for the past five years—with everyone from Buddha Belly to Patty Freaks, Urban Cheesecake, and Yardbirds, as well as many more, passing through.
However, the directors of Hockley Social Club say, “The natural end to our five-year project has arrived,” which is not just a popular Birmingham hangout for street food, but also features comedy, DJ, and even ballet events. Sadly, it will close its doors at the end of 2025 following a six-month ‘farewell’ programme of events.
The 10,000 square foot post-industrial site in the city’s Jewellery Quarter was the first project of its kind in the region to offer a constantly new choice of food and a diverse programme of events under one roof. Since then, it’s welcomed over 500,000 people, worked with 175 traders and hosted over 5,000 events.
A statement from Digbeth Dining Club said:
The natural end to our five-year project in this beautiful warehouse in the ‘wrong part of town’ has arrived. We close the doors to Hockley Social Club (HSC) on Wednesday 31 December 2025, and take with us memories of events, nights, meals, and performances that will last a lifetime.
Back in 2020, we set out to create an immersive, diverse and inclusive event space for Birmingham. In many ways, we achieved just that. From the animation and beauty of Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, to the sound of steel and jerk pans during a reggae carnival, HSC became a space for everyone.
It’s been an incredible journey, starting off with our ‘Click and Collect’ concept during COVID-19 lockdowns. This phase effectively saved DDC’s business when we lost our Digbeth home, and were deemed not suitable for public crisis funding during the pandemic.
We dug deep and pivoted many times, finally landing on a hybrid food hall and event space, a brand-new concept for the city. HSC has been an incubator for many new and wonderful cultural brands in the past five years. Close Up Comedy has grown to a weekly multi-venue promotion, supporting touring comedians and making stand up available to a wider audience in the city.
We’ve brought some of the most exciting chefs and operations like Low n Slow and Buddha Belly in the city through our doors, notably Chef Dan Lee, fresh from winning Masterchef Professionals, who took over one of our kitchens for 18 months and presented so much unforgettable food.
We’ll miss the weekly live performances from the brilliant best of grassroots musicians and a DJ collective that has been with us from the original Digbeth Dining Club days. The friends, regulars and staff who have been the lifeblood and energy of the venue are cherished, and we look forward to taking them all with us on our next adventure.
However, all good things must come to an end. Our decision to ‘call time’ on HSC and step away from the location was made safe in the knowledge that our new initiatives (watch this space!) and touring models will break new ground for the communities of the Midlands.
Between now and our last day on New Year’s Eve 2025, we will be delivering six months of events, music, vibes and signing off with an epic Christmas and NYE send off. Keep in touch with us via our socials to find out more. We look forward to welcoming you to enjoy this beautiful HSC space before we move on to the next chapter.
As mentioned, while this is the end for Hockley Social Club, Digbeth Dining Club—which also operates Herbert’s Yard and is visiting up to 40 locations across the Midlands with its Summer Tour—still has a strong future. It is even expected to announce a new venue in the Black Country very soon, while the majority of HSC jobs will be redeployed to other parts of DDC to expand across the Midlands.
To learn more about what’s happening at Hockley Social Club head here.