Seven decades after opening, the Bankers Club of Puerto Rico located at the top of Banco Popular building in Hato Rey has closed its doors, notifying employees that Dec. 31 would be their last day of work.
Approximately 30 employees,
some of whom belong to the gastronomic Union Local 610, were affected by the
closing of the historic meeting place for the island’s top movers and
shakers.
The employees reportedly were not paid for their last two weeks of
work. Attempts to reach union officials were unsuccessful Tuesday.
The
Bankers Club closing comes after many months of economic problems. In June 2008,
the facility had a reported $4 million debt with Banco Popular, as well as with
a number of suppliers and government agencies.
At the time, the board headed
by attorney Eugenio Romero, implemented several cost-cutting initiatives to
improve the Bankers’ grave financial state, but apparently the efforts fell
short.
The closing comes nearly five years after the Bankers Club invested
more than $3 million to completey renovate the dining room and meeting
facilities. That was when the old fashioned dark colors and woodwork gave way to
a brighter atmosphere.
The club’s history goes back to a time when all
commerce on the island shut down from 11:30 to 1:30 following the Spanish habit.
Rafael Carrión Pacheco, the founder of Banco Popular, encountered the
Bankers Club in New York in the 1930s and thought it would work in Puerto Rico.
By 1939, Carrión and a group of businessmen had forged an agreement with the
New York club to use the name and create the concept on the island. The first
Bankers Club opened in the art deco Popular building in Old San Juan with 200
members.
But it was gas rationing during World War II that made it a hit.
Restricted travel forced businessmen to lunch in town and the club became the
place to conduct business over a meal.
Space constraints for both the bank
and the club forced a move to the new Popular Center in Hato Rey some 27 years
later.
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