Southport BID feature by Andrew Brown, Stand Up For Southport
The Southport Tavern pub in Southport is relaunching with a fabulous new look and an environment that families will love.
New owners have brought in experienced local landlord Steve Richards to lead the transformation as General Manager of the venue, formerly The Albert pub, opposite the side entrance of Southport Train Station on London Street.
The pub has been repainted with beautiful pictures of Southport from years gone by replacing some of the sporting themed pictures on the walls.
New products have been brought in, such as Prosecco, with a greater choice of gins and wines, with cask ales coming too. .
Steve has a thorough attention to detail and wants to appeal to the local community to call in and take a look at the new-look hostelry.
He built up a top quality reputation as the landlord at The Spitfire pub in Ainsdale and is excited about building a similar profile in Southport town centre.
He said: “I was General Manager of The Spitfire in Ainsdale previously, I built up a really good reputation with customers in the area that I’m keen to replicate here.
“The new owners of Southport Tavern are being really supportive of the changes that we’re making in here.
“People are already noticing a real difference when they come in, it’s been good to see.
Southport Tavern Drone Video – 4K – YouTube
“We have taken the metal gates off the windows. We have done a lot of painting.
“The lighting is softer, the pub is really clean, it’s airier, it’s being looked after properly.
“We’d love people to come down and see what they think. I am really proud of what we are doing here.
“The pub was very sports orientated before, at the expense of everything else.
“We still show live sports in here, and we are screening live sports through both Sky TV and TNT.
“We have nine screens for people to enjoy, including a 100 inch TV. We have three Sky Sports boxes available to us, which means we can screen three matches at once if we need to.
“Some of the sporting pictures of the wall have gone, replaced with some beautiful old pictures of Southport which we had stored away in the cellar.
Southport Tavern. Photo by Bertie Cunningham Southport BID
“We are turning Southport Tavern into a really good quality town centre community pub.
“It is a real destination pub, somewhere that people choose to go to.
“We are making it very family oriented.
“Other improvements are being made too.
“We’re getting real cask ales back, which will be really popular.
“We have brought Prosecco in, we have a gin bar, and a great choice of wines, rums, and other drinks.
“Southport Tavern is owned by a small independent PubCo which only owns seven or eight venues, in Yorkshire and the North East – this is their first location in Southport.
“It means that this is a free house, so we have more freedom to choose what our customers want rather than having to serve what’s dictated to us by a big pub chain.
“We’re working from a blank sheet, We are not stuck to a certain supplier.”
Steve Richards at Southport Tavern. Photo by Bertie Cunningham Southport BID
Something really important to Steve is the safety of his customers.
He has joined Southport PubWatch, an organisation run by Southport BID to enable all the venues taking part to support each other and initiate safety measures which work well for all members.
They include the effective Southport PubWatch ‘Banned from one, banned from all’ policy.
It has seen licensees and bar owners from throughout Southport town centre joining forces to tackle unwanted behaviour and instigate a common policy across their venues.
Southport BID’s PubWatch scheme has been very effective in tackling issues within the town centre and creating a safer, friendlier night out in Southport.
Steve Richards said: “I am delighted to have joined the Southport PubWatch scheme, which is really important to us.
“I am enjoying building up some great partnerships with other pubs in Southport town centre through the support of Southport BID.
Southport Tavern. Photo by Bertie Cunningham Southport BID
“PubWatch is helping us to build a reputation for being a safe and reputable venue where families know they can come in and enjoy spending time in a good quality environment.
“If someone is banned from one PubWatch venue, they are banned from them all, which is a great policy to have.
“It keeps all our pubs safe from trouble and is a real;ly effective deterrent to any would-be trouble makers.
“We have badged security operatives on the door keeping an eye on things during weekends.
“Before I came to Southport Tavern, I knew of Southport BID, but didn’t know anything about how they worked.
“After speaking with them since I arrived, I understand a lot more about how much they can help local businesses in our town.”
Southport Tavern. Photo by Bertie Cunningham Southport BID
Customers will also see some exciting new events taking place at Southport Tavern.
Steve said: “I used to run a really popular quiz at The Spitfire, it used to be a full house every week.
“We are going to run a quiz at Southport Tavern at 8pm every Wednesday, with cash prizes and bar prizes to be won.
“Even the team in last place wins a prize – a packet of Scampi Fries!
“We also have a weekly jackpot which increases as time goes on, with a higher and lower game which is a lot of fun.
“That can go up to £300 / £400 before someone eventually wins it so it’s a great prize for someone.
Southport Tavern. Photo by Bertie Cunningham Southport BID
“We have live acts performing every Saturday with karaoke on every Friday.
“I am also looking into setting up a cash bingo game to take place on Sunday afternoons.
“There is always something going on in here.
“We are not serving food at the moment, but that is something we are looking to implement soon. We will let people know when that happens through our social media pages.
“We have a great room in Southport Tavern which we use for events – recently we held a Christening in here but it can be used for all kinds of events.
“We hope people come and have a look at what we have to offer and enjoy all the changes we are making here.”
Southport Tavern is at 63 London Street, Southport town centre. It is open from midday every day until 10.30pm on Sundays, until 11pm Monday to Thursday and 11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. You can Follow The Southport Tavern on Facebook here.
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