A new independent restaurant and bar in Southport is celebrating two launches with two special guests.
Skies, at 459 Lord Street, saw its new beer garden officially opened by Southport MP Damien Moore at 5pm yesterday (Friday, 21st May).
This Sunday (23rd May) from 11am, Everton WSL star Simone Magill will launch the Skies Bar.
The venue has the ability to surprise and delight customers as one of Southport’s hidden gems.
Its outdoor seating area on Lord Street is the perfect place to sit and watch the world go by on this elegant boulevard.
Skies opened its new Coffee Shop as part of the business in August 2020 in the middle of pandemic.
But from this weekend, surprises await inside too. A stunning skylight inside this Victoria era building is one of the site’s unique features. To the rear of the premises is a secret beer garden that is a real suntrap, guaranteeing peace and quiet, relaxation and privacy from the outside world.
Skies is situated opposite Sainsbury’s supermarket, in Southport’s trendy and fast-growing Northern Quarter.
The business employs ten local people.
Owner Nagender Chindam said: “We have been working hard to get everything ready for our two launch events this weekend.
“We are honoured to see Damien Moore MP and Simone Magill officially open our beer garden and beer area.
“We are working to create some real USPs (unique selling points) at Skies. They include our bar area, our beer garden, our skylight, our specialty coffee, and our food. With our food we are looking to be as environmentally friendly as possible with ingredients such as free range eggs, organic milk, chicken that is Red Tractor assured, but while maintaining competitive prices.”
For local entrepreneur Nagender Chindam, Skies has been a real labour of love.
He has worked as an IT consultant, with over 20 years’ experience. But last year he decided on a change of career and is passionate about providing new employment in the town.
He said: “These Covid lockdowns have been incredibly challenging. I wanted to get Skies open after the Government lifted restrictions. We got a great team together. It was all thanks to the support of people and workers in Southport. If this was anywhere else, we could not have done this.
“Clayton Architecture, headed by Joe Clayton, has done some superb work for us. They sorted out everything from arranging planning permission to creating the design and giving our business a great new look. They have done an amazing job, Joe has been great to work with.”
Clayton Architecture has led the redesign of the building which has created a more welcoming frontage and a much more pleasant environment for customers, with its famed skylight bringing light into the building.
Director Joe Clayton said: “I can definitely say I was impressed with the quality of the coffee! And with the restaurant space opening up I think people will be amazed at what has been achieved.
“I can’t wait to see the end product up and running.”
Over the past few months, the business has been closed due to another Covid lockdown.
Now, after the Government eased Covid restrictions, customers are finally back inside restaurants and bars and the future is looking bright for a top quality new addition to the resort.
Nagender said: “I love Southport, and Lord Street is one of the fantastic streets in the UK!
“Lord Street has stunning architecture, and so many great buildings!
“I can’t describe how tough 2020 was, for us and for other businesses in Southport. Every day has been a challenge.
“This has been the most challenging period of my life.
“Now we have the launch of our bar and beer garden happening. I am extraordinarily pleased to see this place looking so good.
“We are really focussing on offering fantastic customer service with nice events, great food and drinks, with top hygiene. We are looking to host live music, encouraging local artists.
“Our outdoor seating has been really popular with what we have experienced last year, it’s a great place to sit outside.
“We have enjoyed enormous support from people locally. Lots of people walking past have stopped to wish us well.
“People are very happy to be back enjoying restaurants and bars in Southport again and we look forward to welcoming them.
- Skies is situated at 459 Lord Street, in Southport town centre.
● Email them at: hey@skieslounge.co.uk or follow them on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/skieslordst/?hl=en
