A closure date has been set for Saturday, December 16, though staff are looking at whether then can make it through to the New Year.
The Greymouth Workingmen's Club was set up during the historic 1947 West Coast beer boycott and for a time was wealthy. But in the past five years patronage has fallen away with the recession that came in the wake of the coalmine closures.
Although it has 557 paid up members, only 60 or 80 are active.
The closure leaves clubs including indoor bowls, darts, boxing and line dancing looking for a new home.
"They'll have to go somewhere else now, and pay for it," club president Les Thomas said.
"It's 70 years old but we can't carry on if we're not getting patronage. They were told use it or lose it. They lost it."
Regulars were hurt by the closure announcement from the executive committee on Friday night; however, the reality was it was losing money right throughout the business.
Asked if more could have been done to save the club, such as innovation or even merging with the RSA Club, Mr Thomas said the committee had brought a business mentor on board and had restricted things "in a big way" to try to save money.
"We took things away from members to try to keep it pinging away. We were not complacent."
The club offered catering on Friday nights but did not operate a kitchen.
Mr Thomas said merging with the RSA was not an option, and they could not use volunteers due to licensing requirements.
Past-president Stan Gladstone, one of the club's oldest surviving members, said he was disgusted it was closing.
"When I was president, we had dances there, the place would be loaded with people."
One of the oldest surviving members, Mr Gladstone recalls the heyday when a second bar operated upstairs.
The closure was announced on the club's Facebook page on Friday night.
"We would like to thank all our members for their continued support over the years.
"This is going to be a very sad occasion for us all and the town of Greymouth. Until then please continue to show us your support."
Members expressed their distress at the news. Comments included: "A really sad thing to happen. What will we do on a Friday night? I've always found the club to be so welcoming," while many others just wrote "very sad".
