Scandi chain set to take over city’s popular Yard bar
A POPULAR Brains pub in Cardiff city centre is set to be taken over by a Scandinavian chain offering live music, table dancing and a huge range of beers and cocktails.
Yard Bar and Kitchen has been a long-standing fixture on St Mary Street and forms part of the capital’s iconic Brewery Quarter, but now looks to be closing to make way for the new venue.
It will be replaced by the Proud Mary pub, which currently has branches in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The chain is owned by European nightlife group Rekom, who are behind brands like Pryzm, Oceana and Heidi’s Bier Bar, which opened in Cardiff earlier this year.
A planning application has now been submitted to Cardiff Council for new signage to be displayed outside the pub, which was originally the Albert, although this is yet to be officially accepted.
There are three Proud Mary pubs across Denmark in Copenhagen, Aalborg and Odense, as well as two in Jyvaskyla and Turku in Finland and another in Stavanger in Norway.
The venues aim to “reinvent the pub” and “combine the atmospheres of an English pub and German beerhall with the comfort of an American sports bar”.
The chain’s website describes its pubs as “modernised with a cosy atmosphere and unique soul”. It adds: “The Proud Mary Pub is your favourite pub, and much more! It’s the setting for a game with friends, celebrating different occasions and it’s the buzzing atmosphere that you want for your night out. It’s dancing on the tables, enjoying a beer at our terrace and meeting new people.
“It is for watching your favourite sports game and enjoying good company in a friendly atmosphere. It is for the great moments we enjoy with each other and we guess that’s why Proud Mary is everyone’s favourite.”
As well as live sport and music, the bars also offer games such as a Wheel of Fortune, which punters can spin to determine which drink they have, while, in a similar vein to the newlyopened Heidi’s Bier Bar on Mill Lane, staff will get up on the tables and dance. There is also a wide selection of glamourous cocktails and continental lagers, as well as classic bar food, including pizzas, burgers, fish and chips and salads.
As well as Heidi’s, the Rekom Group is behind other popular venues including Fiction nightclub on Swansea’s Little Wind Street and Pryzm and Steinbeck & Shaw on Greyfriars Road in Cardiff. Other notable nightclubs owned by the group include Liquid, Atik, Cameo and Eden.
The Yard, meanwhile, dates back to 1713, when it was part of the original Brains Brewery as The Albert. It was among the 156 Brains pubs in Wales which brewery and pub firms Marston’s took over from the Cardiffbased brewer in February 2021.
The deal, which saved up to 1,300 jobs, was needed “to address Brains’ immediate funding requirements”, according to a statement issued by the companies to the Stock Exchange at the time.
However, last month, pubs in the capital were told by Marston’s that Brains wanted the businesses to shut down, leaving devastated landlords in tears. Brains have been contacted for comment.