We have recently published out North East Leisure Supplement 2022, produced alongside Sintons.

Partner in our Newcastle office, David Downing, shares his thoughts on the impact the pandemic has had on the pub trade and in particular looks at the rise of the Micro Pub!

It will be no surprise to anyone that the pub trade has suffered badly over the last 24 months, just like the rest of the leisure industry, but that said, it’s not all been bad news!

Just before Christmas 2019, for the first time in 15 years the number of small pubs in the UK rose. And whilst there have been closures and losses since the start of the pandemic, one of the most startling  features of the market in 2021, has not been the numbers of empty pubs or the remnants of failed businesses, but the level of demand for operational businesses and new sites.

So why is this?

It doesn’t seem to be due to the big PubCos, who have been sitting tight with their established portfolios.  But in Newcastle and the North East, the rise of Micro Pubs could certainly be a contributing factor.

The first recognised Micro Pub in Newcastle, The Split Chimp, was opened by Mark Hall, and grew so quickly it moved to bigger premises just a year later.  The business has gone from strength to strength expanding its presence across the region with the opening of outlets in Seaton Delaval and at Whitley Bay’s Spanish City.

We asked Mark what drove him to open the Split Chimp? “I opened the first ‘Micropub’ in Newcastle in May 2015, having left a 30 year career in the NHS.  I heard Martyn Hillier the founder of the first UK Micropub, The Butchers Arms in Kent, talking on Radio 2 and that night I went home and announced to my wife, Jeanette, that I was going to open a Micropub. Her face was a picture. I opened The Split Chimp Micropub on Forth Street in a railway arch 3 months later. There was a lot of interest in what we were doing and how we were providing quality Ales without a traditional cellar, even from some of the big players and it wasn’t long before several other Micropubs opened in and around Newcastle, and the Real Ale standard began to improve with Newcastle now being one of the best places in the country to sample beers served at their best”

From these small city centre acorns there has been the growth of a veritable forest, with The Town Mouse Ale House on St Mary’s Place (CAMRA Tyneside Pub of the Year 2020), The Wobbly Duck on Old Eldon Square, The Mean Eyed Cat on St Thomas’ Street, Beer Street and Delta Lounge (the tap room for Alpha Delta brewery run by Ross Holland) on Forth Street, not to mention all the tap rooms and brewery’s in and around the Ouseburn, including Full Circle Brew Co.  The refurbishment and re-opening of the Station East, Gateshead is also welcome news for Gateshead’s beer lovers, bringing this well-loved venue back to life.

We asked Jon Sibley of the multi award winning Town Mouse Ale House how he felt the scene was evolving today and where it sits in respect to the licensed trade as a whole?

“There are more breweries than ever before in the UK, and over 500 micropubs – there’s a huge demand whether in City Centres, suburbs or villages. People are wanting a connection with and knowledge of what they are consuming, and a relationship with the brewery and pub, and with the increase of small retail and leisure units becoming available on the high street and communities losing traditional pubs there is an increasing demand for community spaces and pubs”. 

The Micro Pub hasn’t just stayed in the city centres though, with Micro Pubs popping up in suburban locations such as Whickham, North & South Shields, Heaton & Gosforth, making ‘the local’ truly local once again.  The Heaton area of the city has become a hotbed for beer lovers with three outlets, The Heaton Tap, The Elder Beer Café and The Tipsy Toad all within a short walk of each other.

One of the most surprising Micros is Hop Secret.  Hidden in the back corner of Coppers at Gosforth in Brunton Park, just past the fruit and veg is a row of beer taps and a hidden outside area, where beer fans can enjoy a pint and a pizza!

The MicroPub scene has also reached out to the Coast.  Both Monkseaton  and Tynemouth Metro stations have micropubs (the Left Luggage Room and Platform 2) and the plethora of small outlets in and around Whitley Bay includes Gilbert & Smiths and The Dog & Rabbit on Park View, The Front Street Tap House and not forgetting The Split Chimp at the Spanish City.

As the world opens up again, and as evidenced by the market activity throughout 2021, we see no real signs that this is going to change in the immediate future, so let’s raise a glass and say cheers to the entrepreneurial spirit of the independents and MicroPub licensees!