Hello to all from Beelzebub’s! Now of course the news recently broke about the impending takeover of SmallBar and twitter is going mental (as that’s what twitter does) so we thought it prudent to put this statement out to answer any questions folks might have.

First off, it’s true. We are looking to sign on the dotted line this week and take over the property with an aim to opening early June after carrying out some minor works. This may come as a shock to you as truth be told it came as a shock to us too! We have been in deep negotiations with our proposed property on High Street but those who have been following that know we’ve had a LOT of troubles getting the site ready for us to take over.

We originally planned to take over the site in October and look to open for November but month after month this got pushed back…. It’s almost June now, 9 months after we started negotiations to take on the site and there are still issues we need fixing with the property so when SmallBar contacted us with a proposition to take over their lease, we naturally jumped at the chance.

But please note this was not a decision we took likely, far from it. We LOVE SmallBar. It’s where we drink when we’re not working! So the news that they were planning to leave Cardiff to focus on the mammoth task of opening a new Brewpub there was of course a surprise to us. I have no doubt it was a hard decision for them to come to either, They spent a lot of time and effort getting SmallBar established in the city but the fact of the matter is when you start a business you have no idea where that business is going to take you and with the massive success of their crowdfunding campaign they’re now hard at the next phase of their growth.

So where did that put us… We could forget about it and stick to opening in High Street at a time unbeknownst to man nor beast (will the site be ready this month? Will it be ready this year? Who the hell knows…) or we could take this golden opportunity and open up in a site that’s 4 times the size of the unit we were planning and carry on the wonderful tradition of ensuring some of the finest beers in the world keep pouring from the taps at 17 Church Street.

When you look at those two options, it’s a pretty clear choice really.

As for our plans once we’ve completed and have taken ownership of the site? Well, it’s exactly what you’d expect – to sell a tonne of awesome, interesting beers from far and wide, to increase the cider range for all the apple lovers out there and to launch a new and innovative menu giving folks somewhere different to eat from noon till 10pm each and every day.

So that’s about it for now, I hope that explains a little as to what’s happening and why it’s going down like this. If you have any questions at all PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact me directly at c-rowlands@hotmail.co.uk I’m more than happy to answer any questions you may have but for now, stay tuned as more updates will be flying at you thick and fast as this progresses!

Cheers folks!

Chris (Beardface) Rowlands