The horse is out of the barn and the Palomino Club will ride again — this time at 436 Main St., where it will take over the building currently occupied by Whiskey Dix.

The popular nightclub's former owner, Cary Paul, confirmed details were finalized Tuesday. Paul, who owned the World Famous Palomino Club on Portage Avenue since it opened in 1988 until it closed last January, has registered the Palomino trademark and sold a licence to use the name to his longtime Pal employee and former general manager, Christian Stringer.

"Christian and his financial backer would open it. My commitment would be to help him get it open and be an adviser for a couple of months," Paul said. "They're taking possession the first week of April and it'll be open by the second week of May, certainly in time for the May long weekend."

The huge Palomino neon sign — a longtime landmark on Portage Avenue — and all of its interior signs have also been sold to Stringer, said Paul, who expects they will be used to decorate the country bar at its new location.

"Not only are they going to have that great patio, they're also going to be open for lunch on that patio with a massive barbeque with stuff off the grill," Paul said. "They want to not only capitalize off the nighttime business, but there's a lot of government (employees) in that area so they want to be open for lunch in the summertime."

The plan to re-open the Palomino was in the works well before it was announced the original club would be closing last October to make way for a condo development, Paul said. Several new locations were considered before Stringer opted for Whiskey Dix.

Whiskey Dix offered three bars with a decor that was billed as "a unique mix of country and modern in a century-old heritage bank building with a large dance floor and stage."

The venue boasts the city's largest nightclub patio with a multi-level wood deck and seating under the Exchange District lights, which Paul sees as an ideal fit for the new Palomino Club.

"I wanted to have a location that was up and running that kind of already looks a little like the Pal," said Paul, who will entertain licencing rights to entrepreneurs from other cities. "Now I have a place where people can come and see it, which (is better than) to say that it was open for 27 years, but I have nothing to show you.

"My intent once it was closed was always to apply for trademarking of the name and to try to open certainly one more in Winnipeg, now we'll see what happens across Canada."

Meanwhile, Paul will receive a lifetime achievement award Friday night when The Metropolitan Entertainment Centre hosts the inaugural Winnipeg Nightlife Award Show. The event, sponsored by Jack Daniels, highlights the best in the city's entertainment industry over 20 categories, including best nightclub, best radio personality, best event, and best live venue.

Paul said he was honoured to receive notice of the award by email while he was recently visiting in Thailand.

"It comes from peers in the industry who would appreciate and know the business," he said. "It coincides with the Palomino closing down and my 30-year tenure coming to an end as it relates to my ownership portion of it.

"I gather that's why they wanted to give me the lifetime achievement award."