PUBLICAN Mark Beirne plans to open a new outdoor festival venue adjacent to Pug Ugly’s bar in Belfast's Bedford Street.
And he is calling on the industry to urgently build confidence with customers by transforming their venues and maximising footprint, which he says is crucial to the survival of night life and café culture in the city.
The Bone Yard, which opens on July 23, will be a 16,000 sq ft space and has been designed to create an atmospheric outdoor entertainment environment while strictly adhering to the industry’s social distancing needs.
Beirne, who has a reputation for transforming derelict venues in areas of low footfall into cutting edge boutique bars, has leased a large car park at the back of Pug Ugly’s (part of the Clover Group) to create The Bone Yard with its entrance directly on to Bedford street.
He says the plans for the outdoor space, which he developed with Molson Coors and Brew Dog, will be new to Belfast, creating a festival feel with food stalls, a 17m square stretch tent, converted shipping containers and outdoor toilets with ample space to ensure social distancing.
“I’ve been involved with the Belfast bar trade for 25 years and our sector has been on quite a journey since then,” he said.
“It has pivoted, changed and evolved many times before, and that innovation and creative thinking is being put to the test once again as we seek to build a safe, thriving, fun and atmospheric city centre.”
“Our sector, at the most financially difficult of times, must work collaboratively to build confidence with customers by conducting a thorough review of our offerings, consider what we can do differently to ensure we provide memorable occasions in a safe and secure environment.”
Beirne added: “The Health Minister and others have publicly given us the challenge to create an outdoor café culture to support the sector’s re-opening by safely building footfall and that is exactly what we are seeking to do at Pug’s with The Bone Yard and across the Clover Group.
“The on-going support of Stormont Executive and UK Chancellor is most welcome, but we must see that support continue in the months ahead, with local government also playing its role in supporting our city and town centres by expediting the planning processes at our venues which will help maintain employment and breathe life into back into our urban centres.”
