We want Barrowboy to be a bar for the neighbourhood. Bring your partner in for a date midweek, bring your family in on a Sunday and a drink after work on a Friday.
On the corner of Abbeydale Road where the historic Abbeydale Picture House sits, a new bar is preparing to open its doors.
Barrowboy, a project of nearby residents Charlie Marks and Morgan Davies, is readying to open where Shah’s Groceries once stood for years, something which co-owner Charlie felt was important to respect. “We wanted to give a nod to the history of this place. It’s a famous old grocers and the name, Barrowboy, is a nod to that.”
Charlie and Morgan live in nearby Meersbrook, and worked together at the Forum before True North took it over. “We’ve lived here just as The Broadfield was being done up, so we’ve seen it grow over the years. We want to fit in nicely; it’s a burgeoning area at the moment.
“We know the guys at Picture House Social, and the Broadfield has the beer thing with nine or 10 keg lines. We want to bridge the gap between the two. We want Barrowboy to be a bar for the neighbourhood. Bring your partner in for a date midweek, bring your family in on a Sunday and a drink after work on a Friday.”
Barrowboy will be serving up Taiwanese steamed bao buns from food trader Deckards. “The food here is going to be a bit quirky and a bit edgy.”
The bar opened its doors earlier this week for a soft launch and after inviting a few friends, the Abbeydale Road locals were quick to shuffle in. “We said from the start that we’d have an open door policy and if anyone wanted to come in, we’d say hello and chat to them about the bar.”
Charlie’s picks
Food: Good Morning Viet’Ham. Vietnamese pulled pork, pickled carrot and daikon, coriander hot sauce, cucumber and dukkah.
Beer: Yakima Red
Cocktail: Espresso Martini with rum and amaretto
Barrowboy opens tomorrow (24 August) from 5pm. Head over to the Facebook page for more info.
