The historic Smithfield Tavern is being revamped by local brewery Blackjack as they take over the building this summer.
The Smithfield, which was run as a hotel and bar by its previous owners, sits on the edge of the Northern Quarter on Swan Street, and has nine bedrooms in addition to a huge ground floor pub.
Renowned for throwing some of the best shindigs in Manchester, Blackjack will be renovating the pub with the same DIY ethic that fuelled events such as their monthly Brewtap.
‘The current landlords came to the Brewtaps and they were buzzing about it,' explains Joe Bird of Blackjack. As a result, the Smithfield owners were keen to strike a deal with the brewery. 'It's potentially massive for us. This really is the final piece of the puzzle,' Joe stated.
Just a month and a half later Blackjack were on board, and since getting the contract, the team have taken on an ambitious renovation goal of just eleven days.
While Blackjack focus on the ground floor for the time being, there is the option to collaborate with the landlords on the hotel in the future.
‘The hotel is great as it’s a complimentary business,’ James Darcey of Blackjack told ToM. ‘Imagine all the beer events in Manchester – people travel a long way for them, and they’d be able to stay above a bar that'll have thirteen keg lines and more than six cask lines of beers.’
In addition to the great beer line up you'd expect from seasoned brewers, Blackjack are keen to point out their ambition to revive the pub's community heritage.
‘If people are here for beer they can be, if people want a glass of wine and read the paper then do it – guys, girls, old people and young people, that’s the idea. That’s what were striving for,’ says Joe.
The team aren't afraid to break a few Northern Quarter faux pas in the quest to create a welcoming space. 'It’s not going to be incredibly loud, it’s not going to be incredibly hip, we’re just trying to be a friendly, welcoming boozer,’ explains Joe.
'To be honest I want a place where you can play games. We’ve got old pub games like Shut the Box and Shove Ha’penny... pub skittles and we're gonna get a dart board in here.'
'We’ve grown up drinking in proper boozers, that’s what a pub always was for us,' he adds. 'As much as we love going to flash bars and having crafty beers, I kinda want to sit in a proper pub, and there's no reason that can't be good too.'
The Blackjack team are keeping their cards close to their chest in regards to any soft launches, but you can keep up to date on their twitter page here.
