The Carlton is reopening with a brand new look this Friday (30th May 2025).
The iconic cocktail-style bar in Southport town centre has been closed since the start of this year while an extensive refurbishment has been carried out.
The welcoming venue is excited to launch its revamped ‘Chase Beer Garden’, on one of the sunniest spots on Lord Street.
People will be able to sit back, relax and enjoy drinks while listening to superb live music between 4pm and 7pm this Friday and Saturday, with DJs playing inside from 8pm.
The Carlton is reopening at a great time, with tens of thousands of visitors expected to come into Southport this weekend to enjoy the three day Southport Food and Drink Festival at Victoria Park (Friday 30th May to Sunday 1st June 2025).
The venue has been a firm favourite among generations of Sandgrounders and visitors due to its sunny beer garden, its excellent live music, the quality of the service and a location right at the heart of the town centre. Older residents will remember the building as The Red Rum Hotel.
The Carlton is owned by successful local hospitality operator Carl White, who has invested heavily in Southport town centre as well as in Ormskirk and Formby.
He has turned this part of town into a real daytime and night-time destination, with people able to call into: The Carlton on Lord Street; The Auld Dubliner on Lord Street; The Avenue on Scarisbrick Avenue; and The Chop House on Scarisbrick Avenue.
Carl said: “We are excited to welcome everyone back to The Carlton this weekend, with a fresh new look and some great live music.
“We are pleased to have worked with Chase on the investment to open The Chase Garden.
“Chase is renowned for the quality of its vodka and its gin, perfect for cool drinks and cocktails while sitting outside this summer.
“We have elevated the garden by 8 inches, so it is more level with the rest of Lord Street.
“Our disabled entrance has also been improved, as we want our venues to be as accessible as possible for everyone.
“We have bought lots of new plants to make it look greener, along with some stylish new outdoor furniture.
“New brickwork, new paving, new flagstones, new artificial turf, and new festoon lighting have been installed, along with new signage to give The Carlton a fresh new look for this summer.
“We are so lucky that this is such a big suntrap. The sun seems to come across at about 1pm and stays shining until around 7pm or 8pm.
“We are becoming known in Southport more for our outdoor offering than indoors.
“When it’s summer time, outside areas at pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants along Lord Street and the surrounding streets are packed! It’s a superb town for people to visit.
“Lots of work has been carried out inside too.
“We discovered an internal issue with the building in January so we had to excavate the bar and install a new one.
“People can still expect the same style and look that we had before.
“We want to offer customers high end drinks with good quality brands at reasonable prices.
“You can never stand still. Our standards have got to remain high.
“We refurbish The Carlton every two years; we’re constantly investing in upgrading all our venues, so our customers can expect the very best experience.
“The Carlton will be open every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week, but we may review that and add to those days over the summer.
“Everyone is looking forward to coming back. While the work has been taking place we have had loads of people coming in and asking how things have been going and when we’ll be reopening again!
“We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying a busy weekend.”
The Carlton bar, at 88 Lord Street, Southport town centre, will be open Thursday to Sunday. For more details please Follow The Carlton Facebook page.
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