A new nightclub boss who has taken over a string of venues in Sydney’s Kings Cross has declared she is planning to bring back the area’s glory days – drawing on a lifetime of experience in what was once Australia’s premier nightclub strip.
Christina Jaucian, 44, and husband Lance Alaalatoa, have taken over a string of nightspots such as the ‘World Bar’ in Australia’s most famous nightlife Mecca once revered as ‘the Golden Mile’ because of its profitability.
Ms Jaucian has also taken over control of Maali and the Kings Cross Pavilion on Bayswater Road – reopening tonight on April 1 as Chicane and the KX Social Club – while her husband runs Eros restaurant next door.
The couple have dived into the nightclub business despite being badly burned by previous boss Ussi Moniz Da Silva, who vanished allegedly owing thousands in unpaid wages to staff, including Ms Jaucian, who was his head of operations.
But it’s a role she was born for, picking up the reins from her father who ran a string of clubs, literally on the other side of the street during the wild 80s and 90s.
Despite her ambitious plans to revive the legendary nightlife district, there’s one title she never wants: ‘Queen of the Cross’.
Christina Jaucian says she feels empowered and honoured to be a woman in a traditionally male role and is looking forward to the challenges ahead
‘It’s a running joke and the boys all say it – but no, please don’t,’ she said
‘I’m actually quite shy and as far as the real ‘King of the Cross, John Ibrahim, is concerned, he’s on an absolute other level from me.
‘I have nothing but respect for what he’s done and achieved. He’s very well respected, and he’s the ultimate, but he’s been very friendly and is wishing us well.’
And that pedigree means Kings Cross holds no surprises for Christina, who saw it all as a child walking through the strip’s then mean streets on her way back from Sacred Heart Primary School and then St Vincent’s College on Victoria Street.
‘It was a very colourful place to grow up in,’ she said. ‘This area has a lot of heritage and history. It’s in my blood. I saw it all – it was never foreign to me.
‘People ask me if I ever saw any criminality or whatever – but this whole area was my home. It was all just normal for me. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
‘I’m sure there would have been – but I can’t even think to remember,’ she adds diplomatically.
Her father, Orlando, ran the super-cool Propaganda, Ziggurat and Profile nightclubs on the Hampton Court side of the road – and now she has him on speed dial for guidance.
‘He’s 75, retired, and lives in the Philippines,’ she revealed. ‘When I sent him the message about taking over the businesses, it just brought tears to his eyes.
‘I said to him, now that I’m in this position, and there’s this amazing opportunity. I’ll need your advice, you’ll be getting a lot more phone calls from me.
‘And he’s welcoming that with open arms. He’s like an encyclopedia for all of us. He’s a fabulous mentor to have.
‘I’m like a female version of him,’ she added.
‘He’s very happy but he’s very humble. He’s told me to take care and never let my ego get in the way.
‘He said to make sure I look after my people – which is how I was always raised – and make sure I’m safe.’
She grew up in the seedy underworld heyday of the Cross, made infamous by the Wood Royal Commission and then brought to life in crime series Underbelly: Golden Mile, and more recently, nightclub entrepreneur John Ibrahim’s dramatised life story on Paramount Plus, ‘Last King Of The Cross’.
After Kings Cross was cleaned up, dozens of clubs and pubs thrived in the area.
But that all changed when newspaper and television news hysteria over violent alcohol-fuelled deaths on the streets saw the NSW state Government introduce lockout laws that closed clubs at 1.30am.
What followed was a series of closures that was only accelerated by the Covid lockdowns.
This has led to an intense gentrification of the area. Where once you could buy any drug on any street corner, just up the road from Christina’s burgeoning empire is now a corner shop selling truffles and foie gras.
Christina Jaucian and husband Lance Alaalatoa have taken over a string of venues – including what was once the World Bar – in the formerly crime-ridden Golden Mile
Kings Cross nightclub owner Abe Saffron (left) was one of the area’s crime kingpins in its heyday. Crooked cop Roger Rogerson (right with notorious criminal Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith, centre) was a Kings Cross detective and named the most corrupt cop in Australia
Feared crime boss Lenny McPherson (left) was known at the Mr Big of Sydney’s crime scene in the 60s and 70s, while convicted drug dealer Bill Bayeh (right) was a notorious figure around Kings Cross in the 90s
Even the beloved Bourbon and Beefsteak bar is gone, as are most of the area’s strip clubs, late night pubs and brothels.
‘Back in the day, when people of my father’s era were running the clubs, it wasn’t as stringent with the licensing and things like that,’ she admitted.
‘But it is what it is – times have changed. It is very different. I’ve experienced it across its full capacity. It was a hub and it was exciting.
‘The lockout laws absolutely did affect it – everybody can agree on that.’
Christina has vowed to keep the connection with the past in her revamp of the World Bar as KX Social Club with photographs of the Cross at its murky best.
She plans to celebrate its past with a gallery of snapshots showcasing the Cross from the 70s, 80s and 90s, when the area was associated with criminal kingpins such as ‘Mr Sin’ Abe Saffron, the Bayeh brothers, enforcer Lenny McPherson and crooked detective Roger Rogerson.
‘I think that’s really strong to maintain within this venue,’ she said.
She shrugs off the fact that she will be a woman in a world which has previously only been ruled by men.
Nightclub boss Christina Jaucian aims to bring back the glitzy glory days to Sydney’s once-seedy Kings Cross nightlife – but she insists: ‘Don’t call me Queen of the Cross!’
‘Being a woman in what is traditionally a man’s role in the cross makes me feel empowered and honoured all at once,’ she said.
‘I know my capabilities and commitment and passion to drive the venues to success alongside a team who are equally as passionate.
‘I don’t feel there will be any difference as I have worked on Bayswater Rd with the team as one of the senior managers and have dealt with a multitude of challenges and have overcome them.
‘The only difference now is that I am more driven as my role has changed.’
She and Lance stepped in after restaurateur Da Silva vanished in February amid mounting debt claims, with money allegedly owed to staff, patrons and suppliers.
Ironically, Maali hosted the official premiere party for Last King of The Cross in February, just days before the shutters came down at the venue.
King of the Cross John Ibrahim (right, with eldest brother, bikie gang boss Sam – now deported to Lebanon after his visa was cancelled in 2015 when he was jailed for five years on firearms charges – and younger brother Michael, who is serving a 25 year jail sentence for drug smuggling)
The couple has now taken over the licences for the Kings Cross properties, where Christina was previously head of operations until she quit in February over her unpaid wages and a row over the business’s direction. Husband Lance was general manager until he left last October.
The doors also shut on Da Silva’s Mexican restaurant Sinaloa in Double Bay, with Da Silva, 29, now believed to be hiding out in Bali with his Instagram influencer girlfriend Julia Gelonese.
Gelonese was previously fined $26,460 by the Fair Work Ombudsman over unpaid wages at the couple’s previous restaurant, Upper East Side in Bondi.
Now Christina and Lance are hoping to put the chaos behind them and have kept most of the same staff on at their venues for tonight’s relaunch on April 1.
‘It’s a very quick turnaround,’ she admitted. ‘But the team have done this before.
‘We’re pretty confident – we’ve done it for the previous owners, so we know we can do it. It’s a huge, huge task – I’m not gonna lie, it’s a big job ahead.
‘There’s going to be some big changes, cosmetic changes, but it’s all about the detail.’
That gentrification of the Cross in the wake of the lockout laws has sounded a death knell for most of the area’s legendary strip clubs, bars and sex industry
In its heyday before the lockout laws, partygoers would queue down the street and round the block to get into World Bar, now set to be reborn as KX Social Club
KX Social Club will see a variety of themed areas over its several levels, including the classy throwback bar, a sports bar off to the side, and a disco-themed nightclub upstairs.
Chicane – on the site of the former Maali club/bar/restaurant, which itself was once Candy’s nightclub – will be a darkened club with flashes of teal, based on another local nightclub of that name from two decades ago.
Out the back will be an exclusive invitation-only VIP room for groups of up to 40-50 looking to party hard in private, similar to the celebrity-studded VIP booths at the back of Hugo’s which used to overlook the street in 90s and 2000s.
Prince Harry was once spotted leaving there looking the worse for wear and supermodel Elle ‘The Body’ Macpherson was occasionally seen hanging on the arm of Hugo’s owner Dave Evans.
Christina said the new sealed-off area would be a ‘club within a club’.
‘You’re going to have to know a secret password to get in – I don’t want to reveal too much,’ she said. ‘It’ll open a little bit after the actual club.
‘It’s targeted at people who want to spend a little bit more for cocktails or hold little private events or parties. That’d be a really good space for it.’
She says she’s working closely with the other venues nearby to try to bring the good times back to the clubs and streets of the Cross.
‘In terms of Covid, yes, it did affect us, but now slowly, it’s starting to come to life,’ she said.
‘The goal is to get it to somewhat, even just maybe halfway there, slowly, slowly. This is not an overnight thing.
‘For us, our main thing is to get these two activated and operating at full capacity within a few months. I believe we can.
‘We’ve got really good relationships with the other venues on Bayswater Road. That’s really important – because if we’re busy, they’re busy and vice versa.
‘We will all work together.’
The other focus is avoiding any return of the violence that sparked the lockout laws which shut down the city’s nightlife in 2014.
The devastating legislation was brought in after five men died in just three years in separate coward punch kinghit attacks on the streets of the Cross and Sydney’s CBD.
‘That’s something that I want to work very closely with in terms of just making this hub a safe place to be,’ said Christina.
‘That’s probably at the forefront of everything that we do now, given the history of the Cross and certain incidents.
‘We need patrons to feel safe. We need our staff to feel safe. We need neighbours to trust us, then everyone’s thriving and it’s a safe environment for everybody to be in.’
But for all the grand plans, Christina admits even she’s surprised by her sudden rise to be one of the key figures in the revival of the Cross.
Before moving into clubland, she was previously a manager with Harrold’s luxury department store in Melbourne.
‘I knew at some point I’d come and try it but I didn’t know that the turnaround and the growth would be as quick as it has been,’ she said.
‘And for me, I think that just comes naturally because I have worked in sales and service and customer experience before – that’s probably my strength.
‘And I love being welcoming – coming from a Filipino culture, my parents are the most hospitable, welcoming people who worked in hospitality all their lives.
‘So I think it just came naturally. It’s in my blood.
‘Just don’t call me the Queen of the Cross!’
NIGHTCLUB BOSS ON THE RUN
Ussi Da Silva (right) and his girlfriend Julia Gelonese (left) ran a series of failed businesses across Sydney before vanishing
Christina Jaucian stepped up to take over her burgeoning empire after budding nightclub boss Ussi Da Silva vanished after years of controversy.
Da Silva, 29, launched the photogenic Upper East Side cafe in Bondi in 2016 but was soon mired in a row with staff over unpaid wages and entitlements.
He handed control to his Instagram influencer girlfriend Julia Gelonese who was fined $26,460 by the Fair Work Ombudsman over the salary row.
But history repeated when Da Silva moved into new locations across the city, including French restaurant Meu Jardim in Sydney CBD – which boasted a waterfall and firepit – and upmarket Mexican eatery Sinaloa in Double Bay.
He launched Eros on Bayswater Road in Kings Cross in February and Maali in May last year, with Kings Cross Pavilion following in August.
But he soon ran into problems with staff, security, suppliers and even DJs going unpaid.
It’s estimated he ran up an alleged $2million in debts before he disappeared in February.
‘He was more interested in coming in with his mates and drinking shots than he was in running the place,’ one former staff member told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He p***ed everyone off. You just don’t not pay people. He’s hiding in Bali now. Everyone knows. It’s only a matter of time before he’s found there.’
Instagram influencer Julia Gelonese (pictured) was fined $26,460 for underpaying staff at Upper East Side eatery in Bondi after taking over from Da Silva
The doors were padlocked shut at Sinaloa in February after running up an alleged $400,000 in unpaid rent.
Maali was forced to close for 58 hours in February by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority after a violent brawl broke out inside the club.
Eros Greek restaurant was hit with a similar temporary closure notice and closed for 60 hours in the same month after police were tipped off a bikie gang were planning a revenge hit at the venue over unpaid bills.
It came just days after Maali hosted the premiere for nightclub entrepreneur John Ibrahim’s $50million-budget TV show, Last King of the Cross.
The venues remained locked after the temporary closure orders but diners kept making bookings for Eros and paid online deposits, only to turn up and find the abandoned premises.
It’s reported that Da Silva moved to the Gold Coast and was renting a $2800 a week property shortly before his empire collapsed and he disappeared.
Da Silva and Gelonese have since deleted their social media accounts, including her Instagram account which boasted more than 40,000 followers and charted their millionaire lifestyle.
Ussi Da Silva (pictured) and Julia Gelonese have since deleted their social media accounts, including her Instagram account which boasted more than 40,000 followers and charted their millionaire lifestyle
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk