City Tastes & Tipples: The Counting House, Wakefield

The former Yorkshire Penny Bank building – which has previously been Koco Bongo and Religion – has reopened under new management as live music venue the Counting House.

Over two floors the venue has a bar with food and sports, and a large upper gig room with a stage and PA system.

Company director Nigel Coxan wants the bar to host quality cover acts every Friday and Saturday night with slots for bands playing original material throughout the week.

He said: “You just can’t miss this building when you’re on Westgate and I knew it could be a great venue.

“There are lot of places opening it Wakefield now all striving for the same thing.

“You just want to make sure people stay here rather than getting a train somewhere else.”

He hopes between the music, sport, food and drink there will be “something for everyone” at the Counting House.

And he hoped the new venue would attract customers of all ages rather than specifically the younger market the bar looked to in its previous forms.

Nigel also owns the Supper Club, on neighbouring Silver Street, but was looking for somewhere to accommodate full live bands.

He has been speaking to Wakefield College about arranging showcase nights for music students to show off their material.

The venue has a full kitchen and is currently serving gyros, but Nigel said the plan was to rotate the menu every couple of months between different types of cuisine.

Watch: Catch Liverpool vs Manchester United on Sunday on one of the big screens in the main bar.

Dance: If you fancy a bit of a singalong there will be live bands every Friday and Saturday. You can catch covers act Pac-Band tomorrow night.

Drink: The bar is stacked with range of beers, wines and spirit.