Behind bars: Former police station to become new watering hole
A Smethwick-headquartered brewer plans to turn a former Birmingham police station into a bar and cafe and create a string of 50 bars around the West Midlands over the next five years.
Davenports has just submitted a planning application for its first 1,200 sq ft Dares Cafe on the ground floor of the The Big Peg in Vyse Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter.
It would be one of the first bars in Birmingham to offer brewery fresh tank craft beer - beer transported five miles from the brewery and dispensed from 500-litre tanks hung from the ceiling.
Another five such bars offering tank beer, claimed to preserve the freshness of the beer and give it a better taste, would follow this year.
Davenports, owned by Empire Star which also owns Walsall's Highgate brand, has secured investment of £10 million to enable it to develop the new bars, the first two of which have also received £100,000 match funding from the Government's Regional Growth Fund.
Simon Key, marketing and brand director at Davenports, said the investment would allow the business to acquire new sites as well as invest in its existing pub estate.
The expansion strategy could also see the redevelopment of the former Highgate Brewery site in Sandymount Road
Dares is another brand that was bought by Davenports in 1962, but has not been active for many years.
The original Dares Southend Brewery was in Belgrave Road, Balsall Heath, and dates from 1927.
The new Dares beers are Red Eye, Real Indian Pale (RIP) and lager 6IX.
The investment strategy also involves reviving Empire Star's brands to cash in on the current demand for craft beers.
Davenports, which dates back to 1829, said it wanted to transform a redundant space in the old police station into a vibrant community facility.
The plan is to operate as a snack bar and lunch venue during the day with a full food and drink service during the evening.
Davenports plans a recruitment drive to find staff for the new venues but is not yet saying how many it will be seeking in total.
The Jewellery Quarter site and a second in Moseley will create more than 20 posts.
Dares Cafe would face on to the Golden Square public space which was completed last year and if permission is obtained from the city council could open by the spring.
