Container company creates outdoor bar

The Aldridge-based container specialists helped create a pop-up bar which forms part of a quirky covered outdoor venue area at The Beech House bar and restaurant in Solihull.

The Beech House has been opened by Hunky Dory Pubs and is the first in a joint venture between Oakman Inns & Restaurants and Enterprise Inns.

It stands on a site that has been home to an inn since the 18th Century – latterly known as The Lazy Cow.

After a 10-week renovation programme, The Beech House was unveiled and as well as a funky interior which can house 120 in the enlarged restaurant, it also has the added attraction of an elegant outside area.

General manager Dan Dawson said: "We commissioned Chelsea Flower Show's Gold Medal-winning garden designer Kate Gould.

"She has created a new City Garden that incorporates an al fresco bar and outside dining area.

"We have created a completely new function space for up to 120 guests on the upper level with a double tepee and a bar recycled from a former shipping container."

He said the popular feature had already taken more than 50 reservations after the first opening weekend.

The bar was created in the modified container supplied by S Jones Containers, with internal fit out by Hunky Dory Pubs.

It features an oak laminated food safe worktop with bi-folding doors, and under-counter washer unit, chillers and bar units with power sockets and beer lines connected directly back to the bar's cellars.

The container has been painted in a vibrant green, in keeping with the City Garden theme, and has a polyester awning attached to the roof to keep customers dry while enjoying a beverage or two.

S Jones Containers' project manager Andy Capella said: "This another excellent example of how versatile shipping containers are.

"We can turn customers' creative ideas into reality, and another bonus is that this bar can be relocated very easily, if the occasion demands, providing even more flexibility for the operators."

S Jones Containers is a family business stretching back over a century based in Aldridge with a long established heritage in the shipping container industry. and The company is one of the UK's leading specialists in sale, hire and conversion of shipping containers, and self-storage under its 'U Can Store It' brand.

Bespoke conversions are carried out by the company's team of specialist design engineers, including 3D CAD modelling, to transform containers into highly sophisticated containerised solutions for equipment and processes worldwide – for test facilities, power generation, solar farm electrical enclosures, restaurant complexes, water pumps, fire suppression, housing, and a host of other applications.