We always wanted to run a bar and now we're just going for it

A family bringing a new bar to Garston Village hope it will contribute to the area's resurgence.

Web designer Paul Maloney and his wife Braidy are opening tap room Solomon's on St Mary's Road in Garston next month. Found in the former Stalbridge Hotel, the bar will focus on craft beer as Paul and his family look to bring something different to the area.

Named after butcher Solomon Fisher, for whose business the building now housing the tap room was built, Solomon's will open on May 4. Paul, 43, from Garston, is excited by the venture and is proud to be part of a group of businesses bringing new life to St Mary's Road.

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As he worked on getting the bar ready for business, Paul spoke to the ECHO about how the idea behind it developed and what he hopes to achieve with the venue.

He said: "I’m into craft ale and have been for a good few years. My wife and I were looking at buying a place to run as a bar.

"My wife was part of the cake shop on Aigburth Road called Catherine Braidy. She was the Braidy from that.

"But she moved away from that last year and opened up a new cake and coffee shop on St Mary's Road called Five in August. Our focus then was on getting the coffee shop sorted.

"We'd only been trading for a week and the Stalbridge Hotel nearby left. The landlord showed us around and asked 'don't you fancy that for your bar idea?'.

"I said that we'd literally just opened the coffee shop so we weren't sure. But in December we decided to just go for it".

Garston has a number of traditional pubs, including The Dealers Arms and The Swan Inn. With its focus on craft beer, Solomon's will bring a different type of venue to the village.

"There's definitely a place for something more traditional and you want that some nights", he said. "We want a different offering - we will have a selection of craft beers, keeping them as local as we can.

"We'll have ten lines of local craft beers, local spirits, try and keep everything as local as possible. There will be members evenings and local events. We’ve had lots of local groups get in touch with us.

"So it won't be your traditional boozer, it’s a community space. It follows on from what we’ve done with Five.

"We want to take that community aspect that we built at Five and bring that into a bar environment. We want it to be a place where a young lady feels comfortable coming in to have a glass of wine on her own - we want it to be a safe space for everybody.

"There'll be no live music, no sport - just background music so you can have a chat. There'll be board games and quizzes - we want it to be a place where you can play scrabble with your nan or have a pint with your mates.

"And it's going to be a true family affair. My eldest son Danny is going to manage the tap room. He's worked as bar manager for a number of years - he managed The Dog House in Wavertree."

After finding success with Five, Paul and his family hope that bringing another new business to St Mary's Road will keep the high street moving in the right direction.

He said: "Garston has been one of those areas that has been on the edge of having a boost so many times. For whatever reason, it hasn’t ever quite got there.

"For an area to pick up, you need a good place in the day and a good place in the night. We already had the day place with Five, so we thought let’s see what we could do with an evening venue and try to give Garston a boost.

"There's a deli opening at Seddon House and nearby there's a place doing pre and post-natal classes. That whole corner that has been neglected has picked up with four new businesses. It’s nice to be part of that lift.

"For an area to grow, everyone needs to be singing from the same page. There are groups trying to give it a boost. I think that will happen with people taking on new businesses and new ideas."

Solomon's will open on May 4. It will be found at 134 St Mary's Road, Garston, L19 2JG.

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