Liverpool city region hospitality entrepreneur Jonathan Yates acquires fourth venue and his first in Wirral. Tony McDonough reports
Jonathan Yates already owns and operates two hospitality venues in Liverpool and one in Greater Manchester and now he is expanding into Wirral.
Upton Road Social in Birkenhead, which employs 10 people, joins a portfolio that already includes Coopers Townhouse in Liverpool’s city centre, The Book Bar & Eatery in West Derby and John Street Social in Droylsden.
He says he aims to build on the legacy built by the Houlihan family at Upton Road Social which has decided to exit the business after its lease came to an end.
This venue was originally known in the 1970s and 80s as Eric’s Club and Blythe Halla and was taken over by the Houlihan family in April 1988. Back then it was just the upstairs of the building, operating as a traditional variety club with weekend entertainment.
In the mid 1990s the club expanded to take over the shop units underneath, including a pet shop, butchers and engineers, combining them all into a lounge bar.
Since then Houlies, as it became known, has been a fixture in Claughton Village. So for the many locals who love Houlies, the Upton Road Social is very much a continuation of what they already know and frequent. Memberships cost £5.
Jonathan said: “We only want to take on projects which have great reputations which we can proudly continue, whilst refining and improving details for customers and staff, and of course giving stability to existing staff with the potential for further roles to be created.
“So as with all our venues, and especially Coopers and John Street Social, our focus is to maintain the sense of community and excellent service.”
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This takes the total number of people employed in Jonathan’s growing empire to 56 and he said he had plans to acquire more locations across Merseyside and the North West with the same ethos.
On the Upton Road deal, he added: “The family requested that the name retire with them, so I’ve renamed it the Upton Road Social based on its location and reflecting that, right now, it’s more of a social destination rather than a variety club.”