Gullivers team set to transform famous Chorlton pub

The team behind beloved Northern Quarter spots Castle Hotel and Gullivers are set to reinvent The Lloyds pub on Wilbraham Road in Chorlton.

Jonny Booth and Rupert Hill, who were also behind Chorlton legend The Parlour, will team up with JW Lees Brewery to ‘transform the fortunes’ of the South Manchester institution.

Speaking about this latest project, Jonny said: “We’ve been after this site for years and I’ve finally convinced Lees to move it back out of their managed estate and give it to us! First jobs on the list are to curate a jukebox and sort the drinks offer out!

“Rupert and I have been away doing ventures separately for some time but The Castle and Gullivers are super close to our hearts, so we had a conversation and decided it was time to come back together and in exactly the same spirit that we opened The Castle with, way back in April 2009, 15 years almost to the day, to open the pub that we want to hang in our own neighbourhood in Chorlton.

“There was a real honesty in what we were doing back then and it feels great to be getting back to that and to be working together once more to make a real creative and cultural community hub.”

The team says it will be looking at returning the original name of Lloyd and Platt as it was when the pub was built in 1870 and working more closely with the bowling team that has also been in existence at the site since its creation.

A major part of the refurb will be to revamp the function room into an events space ‘worthy of the city centre’. This will play host to live music, cinema, literary, comedy and DJ events. The space will also be available to hire as a private bar.

Visitors can also expect to find an array of popular pub activities, such as shuffleboard, darts and a large selection of board games, along with a more family-friendly offer to reflect where Jonny and Rupert are in their lives, with various after school, weekend
and holiday events to take place in the venue.

“From day one, we’ve found this shared passion for taking weary and underperforming pubs with bags of potential and breathing new life into them, bringing them back into the community, creating places that people love to be in. It’s always felt like a worthwhile endeavour.” Said Rupert.

“We’ll be taking a cautious approach to any kind of food offer given that, in the current climate, food has become such a difficult thing to profitably deliver, with loads of our old favourites falling by the wayside. We’re looking into a few potential options from rotating pop ups to something akin to the coffee shop model.” Added Jonny

Jonny continued: “We’re obviously immensely proud of what we achieved at The Parlour but we won’t be repeating it. It was of its time and times have changed too significantly and we feel that some things are best kept as great memories rather than trying to create a pastiche of what was.

“Obviously, The Parlour was close to our hearts and we’ll still be approaching Lloyd & Platt with that same energy to create a great place to hang out with the same great vibes, but music and creativity has always been central for us and getting back to our roots is where we’re at now, so the emphasis will be back on delivering great entertainment in a great space with great drinks.”

The pair, both non-drinkers, say there will be a strong alcohol-free offer, as well as events and fun activities to ensure the venue is a welcoming space beyond beer.

The new team have now taken over the pub and will reopen this week following a short closure period.with a short closure period.