Pub of the Week: The family-run town centre venue with brewery roots

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 Ryan Bailey, the 38-year-old co-owner of Northern Monkey from Astley Bridge – the modern bar which brews and serves up beer in the heart of Bolton.

Can you give us some history about the pub?

“Northern Monkey was started by two Bolton lads from Chapel School. It started as a brewery and went into Nelson Square as a brew pub.

“Then we moved the brewery out to an industrial unit and left, obviously – but, you know, it’s probably the best craft beer in Bolton – from our opinion.”

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What’s it like to run Northern Monkey?

“In this day and age, tough. There’s obviously a cost-of-living crisis.

“We survived all the Covid stuff, but other than that we’ve got an amazing following of people who enjoy coming to Northern Monkey.”

Northern Monkey is located on Nelson Square

Do you serve food at Northern Monkey?

“Not at the moment. We did stop the food due to the rising cost the overheads and electricity bills, so we have paused that for now – we might look to relaunch the food towards Christmas time.”

Is there an outdoor space?

“We’ve got the pavement directly outside, and Nelson Square, as the town centre goes, is a really good looking square, isn’t it? It shows Bolton in its best light.”

What’s the most popular drink served at Northern Monkey?

“The craft beers, obviously. The most popular is probably Boats and Hose, that’s taken from me being a firefighter at Bolton and also living on a boat when we owned one of our other venues.

“People go mad for that.”

Do you have an entertainment lineup?

“Yeah! So, we tend to do live music on a Friday and a Saturday. On Fridays we normally do happy hour between five and seven – that’s for when people finish work on a Friday working in the town centre.

“We get really busy then, we do various drinks offers, two-for-one type stuff for our happy hour.

“We have a singer on a Friday and live music on a Saturday as well. We’re also featuring as one of the main bars for the Right to Roam festival this year.”

Liam Convey (left) and Ryan Bailey (right) started Northern Monkey

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

“Essentially, it is the cost. People are having to go out and spend their money when realistically they are actually going to the supermarkets and staying in.

“You can’t blame them, bills are stretched at the minute, things are tight for people and there’s a growing culture of obviously people watching the football with a beer at home rather than venturing out into the town centre.

“We’ve just got to keep doing what we do, brewing the beers in the town, selling them in the town and promoting what we’re good for like that.

“I think it’s essential that people do still support hospitality businesses for the mental health side of things. We do have a men’s mental health evening once a month on a Tuesday evening where we get a group of guys together.

“You won’t be able to put it in the paper because they’re called the ‘Pointless Ba*****s!’

“It’s just basically getting guys together who are maybe feeling a bit lonely, feeling a bit down – men’s mental health has often been overlooked and obviously pubs and social spaces are the best place for people to have friends and social links.”

Beer is brewed at Northern Monkey's brewery in Bolton

What’s the worst thing about running the pub, and why?

“It’s just managing the finances, just trying to keep your head above water sometimes. We get good local support, it’s just the admin.

“If you could just open the pub, sell drinks and drink drinks it’d be just amazing – but it comes with a lot of admin to do that.”

What’s the best thing about running the pub, and why?

“It’s just having that network of people within the town and further afield that are Northern Monkey regulars and class themselves as part of the wider Northern Monkey family.

“Me and Liam went to school together, our families are close friends. It’ll be my wife on the bar one day, me the other day, sisters the day after – it’s a family-run, independent business, so it’s something we can all enjoy together.”

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