Four new shops, bars and restaurants open in Plymouth city centre

It seems hardly a month goes by without another shop closing down in Plymouth city centre – but it’s often overlooked that other businesses are opening there all the time too.

In just the first two months of 2019 several new retailers and leisure enterprises have begun trading in the city centre, many of them in the often-malaigned West End.

They include some unusual outlets, including a restaurant with a difference, a bar like no other, a very specialist butcher’s and a bedding firm that wants to help the needy.

Between them they have invested more than £100,000 into the city’s retail area.

Steve Hughes, chief executive of Plymouth City Centre Company, said this follows about £3.5million being invested into the city centre by public and private sector big players, including the revamp of Plymouth Market and the eye-catching serpentine walkway at the Aspire student block.

And more improvements are coming, including major environmental additions, and all backed by the return of the West End carnival on August 31, 2019.

“Footfall is increasing down here,” said Mr Hughes. “And we are seeing that businesses are prepared to invest in Plymouth. People are taking notice and think Plymouth is a good place to be.”

So here are just four of the excellent new businesses that have launched in the West End so far in 2019.

 

Holy Smoke Bar B Que – the restaurant proving the fire has not gone out in the city centre

Experienced chef Fabian Kovacs has worked in some of Plymouth’s top restaurants, but always dreamed of having his own place. Now he has, and he’s also saying he’s spotted a gap in the market: an eatery specialising in slow-smoked meat dishes.

“A friend gave me the idea, he told me there was no smoke house in Plymouth,” he said. “And people like that food, so I opened up. Trade has been getting better and better.”

Mr Kovacs invested about £30,000 in creating the 35-cover Holy Smoke Bar B Que restaurant in Cornwall Street, renting the unit most recently occupied by the Slurping Life coffee shop.

The chef, who has worked at the Crowne Plaza and Bistro Pierre restaurants among others, said the diner specialises in smoked dishes, with the meat and poultry slowly cooked for hours.

The business is open seven days a week, and sends out food too via Deliveroo, open until 9pm, apart from Sundays.

Mr Kovacs has created two full-time jobs but is always in the restaurant himself and said: “I haven’t had a day off since I started.”

Bar 9 – the bar bringing American pool to the home of the Mayflower

James Wright has invested close to £50,000 on creating a modish leisure destination above a row of closed-down businesses in one of the most down-at-heel areas of the city centre.

When patrons climb the stairs from the roller-door entrance in Colin Campbell Court they find themselves open-mouthed.

Bar 9 has a chic 21-Century décor, chic furniture, an inviting bar, large-screen TV, and its USP: pool tables.

The newly opened sports bar already features three, 7ft by 4ft British tables, but will soon take delivery of three 9ft by 3ft American tables, each specially imported and costing £7,000 each.

They are perfect for a game of nine-ball or traditional American pool.

And Mr Wright, whose late father Peter ran the Barbican’s Three Crowns for a quarter of a century, said his business is ideal as a place, with a difference, for family fun.

For £5 people can rent a table for an hour – a cheaper option than the £2 a game offers in other places.

“You can play 15 to 20 games in an hour,” he said. “And this is a place you can relax in.”

Pool fans can pop in and play at Bar 9 during the day, but there is also a membership scheme which comes attached to discounts, and players can join teams too, darts as well as pool, and play in leagues.

The bar can also be hired out for events and parties, and Mr Wright said: “Pool is a fun game, and just as much for women and younger kids.”

Plymouth Butcher Shop – the fresh meat business that’s not just for Muslims

Amir Murad is an Iraqi Kurd who came to Plymouth, met an English woman, started a family and has now been here for more than half his 33 years.

Having worked in a slaughterhouse he thought it was time the West End of Plymouth city centre had a halal butcher’s that specialised in providing the freshest meats available.

So he invested about £30,000 into setting up Plymouth Butcher Shop in Frankfort Gate – but was surprised by the clientele he has been attracting.

“Most of my customers are non-Muslims,” he said. “It’s a great mix of people.”

Mr Murad thinks that could be because the meat he sells is so fresh, many other businesses bring in frozen food, but he insists: “We get our meat daily and our chicken every two days.”

He said that the only difference between halal and non-halal meat is that a prayer is said at the time the animal is killed. So anyone wanting fresh food is attracted to his shop.

And it also has generous opening hours, from 9am to 8pm six days a week, and 9am to 6pm on Sundays.

Mr Murad is the sole worker, so far, meaning he spends long hours in the shop. But he likes that and said: “I’d rather spend time in my business than at home watching TV.”

Bedzz – the furniture company doing its bit to help the low-waged sleep easy

Furniture dealer Jacqueline Bleazard woke up one day to the idea of starting a second-hand bed business that meant people on a tight budget can afford a comfortable night’s kip.

The businesswoman started selling second-hand beds, frames and mattresses online, but opened her shop in Cornwall Street in January 2019 to attract customers walking by.

Investing more than £10,000 into the business, she has been selling her second-hand, and some new, beds at bargain prices.

“There is a lot of poverty in Plymouth,” she said. “And I wanted to help people who are not so well off.”

She has come up with a generous payment plan, which sees people pay weekly, before delivery, only what they can afford, with no interest charges.

“There are people that are struggling,” she said. “People pay what they can afford each week, with no interest.”

Ms Bleazard has two containers full of stock at Faraday Mill, selling the “majority” of her beds online, but said the shop is “going really well”.

And she is upbeat about the future of the West End and said: “The works they are going to do will bring more people in.”

Other new arrivals

Also new to Plymouth city centre in 2019 are ABC Carpets, the Sabeez takeaway and Hays Travel. And more businesses are due to open when the former BHS building is developed, once it secure planning consent.

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