Hoping for a roaring trade!
Crafty Lion will host drag night bingo and comedy nights
ANEW sports bar is set to open in a town centre later this year - and it promises drag queen bingo and comedy nights.
Nirad and Payal Solanki of NS & PS Developments have bought the old Famous Lion pub on Church Street in Stoke and have started to transform the building, which spans onto Consort Street.
Nirad and Payal – who also own Elmesthorpe Brewery, which will operate the bar under the new name of Crafty Lion – are looking to officially open the new venue in May.
They are also hoping to build more than 20 apartments in the building, both behind and above the bar.
The pair say they want to ‘breathe new life’ into the premises, with plans for live sport, drag nights, music and comedy clubs.
But they are also keen to preserve the heritage of the old Potteries pub.
Nirad said: “Crafty Lion will be a bit of a sports bar with pool tables, large screens, local craft beers, as well as some from all over the world. We’ll have a great gin and spirit offering too.
“We’ll be having loads of events – we’re hoping to do drag queen bingo and comedy nights.
“We want to keep that pub feel of course, but we want it to be a really relaxed scene too, where people can pop in with their laptop and do some work in the day.
“There’s a big student population here in Stoke and we’ll be right next to Lomax student halls. They’re buzzing for something different and we really want to become part of the community.
“We also want to preserve local heritage and we have been working with experts to make sure that we can do this. We want to regenerate and rejuvenate Stoke town centre and breathe new life into the building.”
Nirad and Payal are keen to work with the local community on their latest venture – and they can’t wait to welcome customers to the new bar next month.
Nirad added: “There are always risks, but we thought this was a prime opportunity to take on something new. We have secured the building at an amazing price – we own it, bricks and mortar – and it’s going to be a breath of fresh air for
Stoke. We founded the brewery and opened our first pub in
2017, and we are about to launch our 10th site.
“We’re really excited, and we think this will be something that local people will really enjoy. So far on social media we’ve had hundreds of comments from people saying how long they’ve been waiting for something like this in Stoke.”