Turning a Bath restaurant into a “mega bar” could be back on the cards.
The former Garfunkels restaurant in Bath | Image © Google 2020
Pub chain Brunning and Price and owner The Restaurant Group have filed two separate licensing applications for Garfunkels.
The move comes two years after the Grade II-listed Grand Parade premises closed following the refusal of plans to turn it into a pub.
Despite the £1million refurbishment being allowed on appeal in January last year, The Restaurant Group said Garfunkels would not reopen and it was “still assessing all options”.
The licensing applications are the first activity since the appeal decision.
The Restaurant Group Ltd runs the Brunning and Price pub chain along with Frankie and Benny’s, Chiquito and Wagamama.
After reportedly telling staff a “large number” of its sites would not reopen after lockdown, mainly Frankie & Benny’s outlets, it appears the firm is hedging its bets, as Garfunkels is currently available to rent through Savills for £90,000 to £150,000 per year.
The Restaurant Group previously secured a licence to open until 11.30pm Sunday to Wednesday and until 12.30am Thursday to Saturday.
The new application from Brunning and Price would see the venue close at the same times, opening at 8am each day.
Proposals from The Restaurant Group’s leisure arm go slightly further. It has applied to open daily at 7am and close at 12.30am Monday to Saturday and at midnight on Sundays.
The business sits below the 43 age-restricted flats in the Empire Building, where the average age is reportedly 79.
Empire Owners’ Organisation chairman Professor Stan Kolaczkowski told councillors when the previous licence was granted in April 2019: “This is completely the wrong location to try to change the use from a restaurant into a pub.
“Imagine how you would feel if you were allowing a mega-bar under your home.”
Representing The Restaurant Group, lawyer Claire Eames told the meeting: “The company will spend in the region of £1million – a significant investment within Bath – on furnishing and an upgraded kitchen and lighting.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact that Garfunkels needs re-energising.”
She added: “You’ve heard a lot about concerns and what ifs. There were assumptions there will be a mega-bar bringing crime and disorder and public nuisance.
“You have to look at the evidence and be careful in scrutinising the anxieties.
“If there was concern about public nuisance, the responsible authority [the police] would be here.
“Why would someone want to invest all that money and have the problems that have been spoken about?
“This is an operator that wants to protect the licensing objectives. If they don’t, they don’t have a viable business.”
The Restaurant Group was approached for comment.
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
