Pubs and Bars / Bars
Bristol’s newest food and drink trend: shopkeepers opening bars
Sarah Thorp approached a friend during a recent evening at Alchemy 198. “Welcome to your new local,” she said as he perused the cocktail list at Gloucester Road’s newest bar.
Across town on the same night, Hi Life Hi Fi DJs were playing records from across Africa at Friendly Records Bar on North Street, with punters standing shoulder to shoulder in the packed new bar.
Both of these new bars north and south of the river have been opened by shopkeepers whose original premises are only a few yards away.
is needed now More than ever
The walls of Alchemy 198 are full of original art, including a downstairs gallery; while at Friendly Records Bar, hundreds of vinyl records are kept on shelves above the bottles of spirits.
Friendly Records Bar has opened in what was previously The Old Butchers
Alchemy 198 has sprung out of Room 212; while the clue behind Friendly Records Bar is in the name, with Friendly Records owner Tom Friend in his trademark beanie hat making sure everything was running smoothly on Wednesday and – like Sarah at Alchemy 198 – greeting many customers by name.
Alchemy 198 has taken over the premises that were most recently Venus, retaining the bar on the left but opening up the space, raising the height of the ceilings and allowing natural light to flood in through Velux and almost floor-to-ceiling front windows.
Sarah’s son Ziggy Reynolds pulled pints behind the bar on Wednesday, with a bespoke piece from Bristol street artist Cheba on the wall next to the staircase, a cocktail list curated by the team from Cox & Baloney and supper clubs already being planned.
“What Alchemy 198 shares with Room 212 is about creating a community and making a hub,” Sarah told a customer nursing a pint of Independence from Bristol Beer Factory.
“I want this to be a place where people can come in on their own, meet their neighbours and have interesting conversations. It’s what’s needed here I think. A European-style cafe-bar that transitions from day to night.”
Alchemy 198 has been opened by Sarah Thorp of nearby Room 212
Friendly Records Bar meanwhile occupies what was most recently The Old Butchers, always a rather soulless and austere bar that was opened by the team behind the Old Bookshop and Wiper & True, but which had none of the atmosphere at the Old Bookshop or the Wiper & True taproom.
Pints are also now served here (at The Old Butchers, drinks were only served up to two-thirds), with three selections currently on tap: Eureka APA from St Austell, Devon Red cider from Sandford Orchards and Freedom Four lager.
Where previously it was all about the beer – with brief forays into kitchen takeovers from crab to tapas – now it is all about the music, with a weekly residency from local favourites Bedmo Disco and live bands planned in the months ahead.
Read more: Shop of the Week: Friendly Records
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