The team behind a renowned Manchester brewery has said that it feels “pressure and excitement” opening its newest bar on the site of the former Cream Club.
Seven Brothers, known for its signature craft beers, has grown to become one of Manchester’s most successful independent businesses and recently expanded to its first site outside of the city. Its new bar is situated within Wolstenholme Square in Liverpool city centre and will be one of the first tenants to set up shop since its redevelopment by the Elliot Group.
Wolstenholme Square went through rapid changes in the space of three decades, rising up from abandoned warehouses to become a cultural powerhouse home to Cream Club, later becoming Nation, Pleasure Rooms and The Kazimier. A number of venues were bulldozed on the square in 2016 to make way for over 400 apartments and a range of retail units.
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A handful of businesses have set up shop around the edge of the square in recent years, with Seven Brothers taking over one of the largest units. Plans for the bar’s arrival were announced in 2019, but delays, which the developers said stemmed from the pandemic, meant the family established business was only able to open its doors a few weeks ago.
Keith McAvoy, Seven Brothers’ CEO, told the ECHO he is “proud to be part of the rejuvenation of the area” which has such a distinct place in Liverpool history. When redevelopment plans were signed off in 2015, the developers outlined their desire for the square to retain its cultural draw, with an Elliot Group spokesperson telling the ECHO last week that it still wants to attract the best independent businesses to the area.
For Mr McAvoy, the regeneration of the square bears similarities to how their business first started out in a post industrial part of Manchester city centre. He explained how their first site was within Cutting Room Square in the middle of an area called Ancoats.
He added: “At one point you wouldn't be seen dead there after 9pm most days of the week and also the weekend. It was an old mill sector.
"We were the second outlet there and eventually the whole area became synonymous with food and drink. We firmly believe that Wolstenholme Square will be that as well.
“As soon as other businesses get involved I am sure it will become something like that.”
Asked if it will be a tough act to follow Cream, Nation and The Kazimier which used to be the main draws of the area, Mr McAvoy said there is “a little bit of pressure and also excitement.”
When asked by the ECHO if demolishing the square and only seeing a new lease of life start to take hold six years later has harmed its appeal, a spokesperson for the Elliot Group pointed out that covid “took all of the wind out of the sails with the development”.
However, the Elliot Group spokesperson reaffirmed the developers' commitment to attracting the best independent businesses to the square. The Elliot Group spokesperson added: “Within the next three to six months there will be more exciting announcements for the square. The promise of Wolstenholme Square can still be met.”
