A new bar is set to open under Chester’s Watergate House this month, and for backer Jerry Brunning of Brunning & Price pub group, it’s been a long time coming.
Basement 85 launches on Friday, March 13, at 12pm, bringing a relaxed underground bar to one of the city’s most historic corners.
The basement has housed several incarnations in recent years; including Fat Cat, Big Hand and, most recently, The Henry Potts under Brunning’s Pubs Ltd.
Rather than a food-led, full-scale city pub, Basement 85 will operate as a relaxed, intimate drinking venue centred around cocktails, craft beers, elegant wines and deli-style sharing platters.
The change is more fundamental that just format, with the key difference being leadership.
Ethan Evans and Lillian (Lily) Gorman, both in their early twenties and rising talents within the group, will now lead the venture, bringing what Mr Brunning describes as ‘a generational understanding of how people want to meet and socialise now.’
Ethan said: “Basement 85 will be about atmosphere - great drinks, sharing plates and a space that naturally brings people together.”
Lily added: “It’s not about recreating what’s been here before.
“We want it to feel welcoming, relaxed and somewhere you can spend the whole evening - whether that’s after work on a Thursday or meeting friends at the weekend.”
Basement 85 will offer a range of beer and cider on tap, a broad wine list – including their very own tap wine, spritzes classic cocktails, deli style sharing plates and pop-up kitchen events.
For the full story, see Chester Standard