Bolton bar's cocktail inspired by viral social media video - and £2.50 pints

Every week we love to shine the spotlight on some of the best local venues that the borough has to offer, in our Pub of the Week feature.

This week, we spoke with Ellie Sutcliffe, the 25-year-old landlady of The Northern Way, located on Nelson Square.

In the last few weeks, the bar decided to jump on a viral bandwagon, launching the ‘Hawk Tuah’ cocktail – named after a video which went viral on social media.

Landlady Ellie said: “Social media is such a bit thing, isn’t it? I woke up one morning and the Hawk Tuah girl, she was all over the internet wasn’t she?

“To be fair, I posted it as a funny joke on the page, and then we had loads of people coming in for the cocktail so we had to start doing it.”

The cocktail, which costs £6.50, contains Malibu, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, and is topped off with whipped cream and a banana garnish.

The Hawk-Tuah cocktail was made after the bar posted a joke post on its Facebook account (Image: The Northern Way)

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Can you tell us some history about the bar?

“I’ve been the manager for two-and-a-half years now. I’m not entirely sure what was here before, I think it might have been Madison’s. Amber Taverns took it over and they refurbed it all.

“The bar used to be in the middle where the square is. It used to be there, they took it all out and moved it all there [to the side].

“We’ve got a private Karaoke room – it’s free, we don’t even charge for it. It’s got thousands and thousands of songs, two microphones – you can’t hear anything at all when the door is shut, so nobody can hear you screeching and screaming.”

What’s it like to run The Northern Way?

“Hard. Very hard. Not going to lie – after Covid and stuff like that it was hard work getting them in, and then we got them all in and then the cost-of-living crisis happened.

“We’re the cheapest pub in town for pints – Foster’s is £2.50, Strongbow is £2.50, John Smith’s is £2.40.

“The highest pint we’ve got is Moretti and that’s £4.”

She added: “It’s hard work getting them in, if you’ve not got something on, they don’t really tend to come in. On a Tuesday we need to have three staff on because we’ve got karaoke and stuff like that on.”

Landlady Ellie Sutcliffe is just 25 years old (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

Do you serve food?

“No, we don’t. We do do crisps, we did do like sandwiches and pies at one point.

“There isn’t a separate kitchen to do anything as well, so it’s not worth it for us.”

Is there an outdoor space?

“Yes, there’s a beer garden. We’ve had all new benches put in, we’ve had all the LED lights fixed again outside. We’re getting somebody in to put some plants out and stuff like that.”

An outdoor seating area has been opened, with more plants coming soon (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

What’s the most popular drink you serve?

“Probably Foster’s, not gonna lie – because it’s the cheapest one.”

Do you have an entertainment line-up?

“On a Tuesday we’ve got Karaoke. It’s Tuesday Club, so we do a £50 bar tap, a meat hamper, spin the wheel and stuff like that, that’s three ‘til seven.

“Thursday we’ve got Karaoke three ‘til seven and then we’ve got a speed quiz at nine.

“Friday we’ve got Karaoke five ‘til nine and then Friday we’ve got Karaoke five ‘til nine and then on a Saturday we’ve always got a live singer or a live band on as well.”

The Karaoke room is free to use (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

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What are the biggest challenges in the industry at the moment and how can you overcome them?

“I’d probably have to say getting the customers in again, it really is, it’s so difficult at the minute.

“We’re so out of the way, us, as well. They all stay down that end of town, like where Churchgate is and all that, it’s so hard getting them to come up here, it’s crazy.

“We’re literally on the end of a thing, out of the way, and all the other pubs that do stuff are all down there, it’s really hard.”

What’s the worst thing about running the bar and why?

“I’d say the hours, it’s a lot. It’s not just working behind the bar like for me I’ve got to do so much other stuff I feel like I’ve not got a life, it is so hard. But definitely the hours, that’s the worst thing.”

What’s the best thing about running the bar and why?

“The customers. The customers are amazing – half of these customers come in every single day, the customers are amazing, they’re so nice.”

Are there any memorable moments?

“We had a memorial, one of our regular customers died and we raised loads of money, we’ve got a bench with his name on it.

“That was a really memorable moment.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.