Real Ale, Real Music

The iconic Grayston Unity in Halifax celebrates its 5th anniversary this week, and it is hard to remember life before it existed, such has been its impact on the town's bar scene, its drinkers, the wider community, and much further beyond. As someone who has spent a lot of time there I have been looking back over the past few years, and here are some thoughts as it moves into the next exciting phase of its life.... Well, where do I start? I have written many times in these blogs over the past 5 years about The Grayston Unity. Indeed, back in October, with another lockdown looming, and as the Grayston went into a self-imposed hibernation a couple of weeks early I wrote the following:  "...the Grayston is something special. Yes, the staff are very friendly, beer is good, the gin selection is vast, the pork pies pretty decent, the soundtrack can be amazing, and it attracts an eclectic mix of customers. I have made a lot of friends and met some really interesting people there. The...

A stylish new bar has just opened in Halifax, and early indications are that it will quickly become an important part of the West Yorkshire town's burgeoning and vibrant bar scene. And as you might expect I have been along to check it out.... There can't be many bars across the country that actually opened their doors for the first time ever immediately after lockdown eased last month, but that is exactly the situation with Dukes Halifax, which is situated on Russell Arcade near the northern entrance of the town's beautiful Victorian market, just across from the excellent Temperance Movement cafe. The plan had been that owners Sean and Elly would sign for the former charity shop on the day the first lockdown was announced in March last year, but it was actually August before they were finally able to put pen to paper.  Over the subsequent months, the building was slowly transformed into a classy and tasteful bar, with vibrant colours, light wood, exposed brickwork, and pot...

The impact of bad weather. Charity run by an ex-landlord. The thoughts of a newly-recruited bar keep. Two weeks on since pubs re-opened on an outdoors-only basis, here are a few stories from a special corner of Yorkshire.... We have been lucky, very lucky. Since the pubs could re-open on an outdoor service basis from the 12th of April, the weather has been generally unseasonably settled and sunny, with only the sharp drop in temperature from early evening serving as a reminder that we are actually in early spring. And so it was a timely and sobering reminder when a huge deluge hit one evening last week that running a hospitality business based on an outside-only model at a time of year when there are potential heavy showers and plunging temperatures in the mix was never going to be all beer and skittles.  And that's even if you are sitting in a government-permitted blow-through marquee next to a heater as I discovered last Tuesday when I was enjoying a pint at the Dusty Miller near...