Gallery Vancouver, once hailed as the city’s “most exotic nightlife experience,” recently lost a major B.C. Supreme Court case regarding its liquor licence, and the owner feels the way he and his club have been treated was unfair.
Anthony Pomonis is the owner of Gallery Vancouver, Gallery Calgary (which recently launched and is still open) and is also behind Andonis Vancouver.
Gallery lost its liquor licence in February 2026, and the B.C. Supreme Court ruling resulted in the Gallery Vancouver’s liquor licence being permanently revoked. In the club’s prime, it attracted guests like 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes.
A lot of the current situation for Pomonis stems from an issue that took place in March of last year, resulting in the arrest of Pomonis and an employee named Navid Zanganeh. Pomonis was charged with one count of trafficking a controlled substance, but he told Daily Hive Urbanized that all is not what it seems.
“I tried to bring something positive to the city, and I’m not standing here saying that I’m perfect,” Pomonis said.
We asked Pomonis about the trafficking charges, which were stayed.
“They spent 18 months at Gallery Vancouver, and they targeted me, and they got nothing,” he said.
Pomonis said that someone from the club who wasn’t associated with him was caught selling three grams of drugs. He also said there were false accusations about money laundering to do with a US$1 exchange program so patrons could tip dancers.
Other concerns behind the closure were around public safety.
In May 2022, we shared a story about how one of the security guards at Gallery chased down someone who was involved in a fight and was eventually charged with second-degree murder. Some hailed the guard as a hero at the time.
“Gallery Vancouver didn’t spend eight years opening its doors to be enemies with the police or the liquor board,” Pomonis exclaimed.
Pomonis also doesn’t believe that the fight for a licence for Gallery Vancouver is fully over yet. It’s also hard to argue with one of his points that many nightlife establishments in Vancouver deal with situations relating to drugs and violence, and are still open.
“In the news, they make it seem like our license is dead and Gallery is done. Well, no, I don’t go down without a fight, because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
We asked how the developments around Gallery Vancouver have impacted Pomonis’ family and personal life. Pomonis told us that it has been “very difficult.”
“I’m a very spiritual human being. I love Jesus Christ, and so does my whole family. Even though we’ve been impacted greatly,” he said.
Courtesy of Anthony Pomonis
He added that even though there have been financial concerns after the Gallery Vancouver developments, he has a feeling of “everything’s going to be fine in the end” and that “this too shall pass.”
“That doesn’t mean, as a Christian, that you just let injustice go without doing anything.”
Pomonis said that if he knew this was the way it was going to go, he wouldn’t have opened Gallery in the first place. He also feels his club should’ve been celebrated more for the economic value it had, suggesting that the club raked in $6 million worth of revenue in the first year.
If you’ve ever watched The Sopranos, this does feel like something out of that show. We asked him if he feels that way.
“Yeah, they’re treating me like I’m Tony Soprano, exactly. They think I’m this gangster bad guy, and it’s not true.”
We asked how other Metro Vancouver club owners in and around the city have responded to the situation. Pomonis told us that he’s been told they’ve never seen anyone treated the way he’s been treated.
“It’s not fair to have to be an outcast in Vancouver when everyone else looks at me as a pioneer,” Pomonis said.
“Despite everything, I still believe in the city, and I still believe in fairness, and I still believe that people deserve an opportunity to rebuild their lives.”