Bradford city centre nightlife 'heading back in right direction' as host of new bars open up

Two venues will open their doors to the public on Thursday and Friday next week, with another ready to serve its first pint on March 31.

With bars on North Parade reporting strong trading since opening towards the end of last year, those involved in the new ventures say they can't wait to get started.

The Old Bank, on Market Street, closed in 2009, but is ready to make a return on Thursday after a £500,000 refurbishment.

Promotions manager Ellen Boyle said work had gone smoothly since the renovation plans were announced in January.

"We've had tonnes of interest from the public, everybody has been asking about it," she said.

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"We've had great help from the regeneration from the Council, and people seem really happy to see a new pub rise up from the remnants of the old one.

"When Westfield is built, you want the zone around it to match, and I'm sure the whole area will be great.

"I think there's been a big change in the market, and you can see that around the town.

"When people walk through the door next week we want them to feel welcome and at ease."

The first of four new bars planned for the city's Alhambra quarter is due to be unveiled next Friday, when the Bavarian-themed Bier Keller in the Old Windsor Baths, in Morley Street, opens its doors.

A further bar in the same unit, the Brewhaus, is scheduled to open in April, alongside Tiki-o Bradford on April 2, and another 'top secret' venue the same month.

The company behind the project, Tokyo Industries, has been busy promoting the four new venues on social media with a slogan saying: "Hello Bradford. The City is Back!"

On March 31, The Beerhouse will become the newest bar to join the expanding scene on North Parade.

The project has involved a major refurbishment of the former Table Décor furnishing shop, with the new business helping to create 30 new jobs.

Mark Hamilton-Smith, the licensed trade consultant who has been assisting with the development, said: "It has been a really intense period, but with the support of the City Centre Growth Zone team and Bradford Council, along with a lot of hard work from everyone involved, we’ve been able to carry out this major refurbishment in just eight months from start to finish, which is something of an achievement.

"We are now really excited to be opening the doors, and we hope everyone will enjoy the warm, friendly, relaxing atmosphere.

"We'd like to say a big thank-you to all the Bradford people who’ve been so supportive along the way, and we can’t wait to welcome them all."

A number of the new bars, alongside many existing pubs, have benefitted extensively from the Council's £35 million City Centre Growth Zone, which has committed more than £12m to help regenerate the city.

David Robertson-Brown, director of Gumption Centres, which has been promoting the Growth Zone for the Council, said among others, the scheme had supported The Beerhouse, The Old Bank, Al's Dime Bar, The Star, The Brewhaus, The Bier Keller, Tiki-o Bradford, Jacob's Well, The New Beehive, The Sunbridge Wells development, and Bradford Brewery.

"We have been delighted to encourage all the new bars, which will all offer a high-quality venue for today's market," he said.

"The days of misuse of cheap alcohol are hopefully behind us, and we don't want that in the city anymore.

"All the venues we have supported are sustainable and high-quality.

"You can see new people are already being attracted into the city centre, and that the plan is working.

"Slowly but surely, the community is coming back to see what is happening, and, most importantly, they seem to like what they see."

Developer Graham Hall said the underground Sunbridge Wells project, utilising the Victorian tunnels under Sunbridge Road, was set to feature five or six bars when it opens this summer.

"The more bars there are in the city centre, the more choice for people, and the more it encourages them in," he said.

"In the 1980's, Bradford used to be heaving, but then it died off.

"Now it seems there's a new way of thinking, and things are heading back in the right direction."

Matthew Halliday, managing director of Bradford Brewery, said its Brewfactory pub had sold a "phenomenal" 13,000 pints of cask and keg beer since opening last month, with the venue being around 30 per cent busier than he had anticipated.

"The response from Bradfordians has been incredible, and the feedback has been really great," he said.

"We expected to be busy, but it has gone far beyond anything we could have ever imagined.

“We’re getting busier day by day, and we are anticipating things will take off even more with the opening of The Beerhouse, and the Hive Cella bar music venue under the New Beehive, which will create an even bigger buzz in the already vibrant Independent Quarter area."

David Boothroyd, chairman of the Bradford district's Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) group, said it was great to see so many venues with complementing styles opening in the city.

"The Old Bank looks as though its going to be an old-fashioned style pub, which have been the type of pubs that have closed down the years," he said.

"I was on North Parade outside the Beerhouse last week, and it's looking really good there too.

"You could argue there's a limit to how many bars are able to work together, but a collection with good links to each other will boost each other's trade.

"With this week's budget again being relatively kind to drinkers, it's all good news for the pub scene in Bradford."