Popular south Liverpool pub reopens after £150k renovation
A popular south Liverpool pub has undergone a £150,000 renovation and reopened to customers. The Aigburth Arms is located on Victoria Road in L17 and was formerly named The Victoria pub.
Owned by the Blind Tiger Inns team, The Aigburth Arms has undergone a huge makeover following a two-week refurbishment which has transformed every aspect of the south Liverpool venue. When Blind Tiger Inns carried out the original refurbishment here in 2020, the opening was cut short on the same day as all pubs were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But this time round customers old and new had a proper chance to enjoy the refurbished venue when it reopened on on Friday, January 17. Every single area of the pub has been transformed, from the flooring to the lighting, toilets, bar and furniture. The pub now has an added children's play area, as well as more seating available in the beer garden.
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The pub's sound and lighting system has also been upgraded, with the addition of 'smart darts'. Pub manager Louise Delaney and her team have run the pub since it opened in 2020 and are excited by the changes. She said: "Now that it has actually happened, we are literally blown away by the change. We love the pub and our amazing customers, and the incredible new look is just what our customers wanted and deserve.
"Feedback so far has been amazing and we can’t wait to get see everybody this year at all the crazy and exciting events we have lined up ”
The pub will continue to deliver weekly entertainment, cater for sports teams and host functions, parties and events. The Aigburth Arms also shows live sport on its HD screens, including 80” screens as well as more private screens in booth seating areas.
Open every day from noon, The Aigburth Arms renovation is now complete and has been welcoming customers back since last week. Located around a mile away from bustling Lark Lane, the pub is just a stone's throw from Sefton Park, and was described in a recent ECHO review as "a solid and dependable pub that boasts a great garden".
ECHO reporter Dan Haygarth's review said: "An unassuming mid-20th century building with a majority flat roof and a car park at the front - it is the type of boozer you find up and down the country. Inside, there's a pool table, darts board, jukebox, plenty of seating and its bar serves all the classics - premium lagers, Guinness and some cask ales.
"However, the pub is famous for being where the idea for the BBC sci-fi sitcom 'Red Dwarf' was conceived. The show's creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor drank there as students and were said to have written their initial idea for the show on a beer mat.
"A plaque in the pub declares it the "birthplace of Red Dwarf" and it features many times throughout the series. The show's episode 'Ouroboros' begins in a fictional version of the pub in November 2155, as Craig Charles' character Lister is found as a baby in a box under the pool table.
"But The Aigburth Arms' best asset is its large beer garden, found at the front of the pub. It is frankly ideal for a drink in the sun. Though it's not the prettiest spot in the world - it's simply a large stretch of bright astro turf over what was formerly part of the car park - the garden has plenty of seats and a lack of tall buildings around means it keeps the sun for most of the afternoon and evening."
Back in October, the pub became part of a city-wide campaign to save Zoe's Place. Blind Tiger Inns, which has five pubs across Merseyside and Cheshire, donated £1 from every pint bought on Sunday, October 20. Many local businesses donated huge amounts to the cause including Scouse clothing firm Montirex, who donated over £100,000.