Against the odds, a stretch of Middlewood Road, in Hillsborough, has quietly undergone a mini revolution this past year, with a spate of new food and drink venues opening in spite of the pandemic.
Molly’s Café & Deli and The Orange Bird restaurant have both brought some much-needed excitement to the area around the Hillsborough Park tram stop and following hot on the heels of their pioneering pair has been The Pangolin Craft Beer shop.
Unfortunately, The Orange Bird’s next-door neighbours, much like the restaurant itself, have not been able to open to their full capacity and allow sitting in. All that is about to change though, as eased restrictions means that tomorrow (19 May) The Pangolin will finally allow people to have a booze on site.
Pangolin owner Nick Davy
The bar offers three cask and four or five keg lines, as well as carefully curated selection of beers, wines and premixed spirits that to this point have only been available to takeaway but will now be able to be enjoyed in their onsite seating.
“We ‘re more excited than a dog with the top down in a convertible to see everyone with bums in seats this week,” says Pangolin’s owner Nick Davy, who has been a Hillsborough resident for the past 12 years, “We’re having a bit of a soft launch this evening, just to make sure I can still pour pints and then it’s all systems go from Wednesday.”
“We’ll still be selling mainly modern UK craft beers, sourced locally and nationally. Beyond that, we’ll have international beers from America and Canada, European craft beers, along with traditional European styles like the good old Belgians.
“We’ll also have some German and Czech beer, so some great pilsners, and it’s good to get some of the Dunkel’s and Weiss beers from over there as well.
“We have one double fridge to start with and plenty of shelving, so there’s lots of selection. Hopefully, over time, we’ll bring in more fridges.”
Nick has a wealth of experiencing in the craft beer industry and some readers might even recognise him as their friendly neighbourhood bar man!
Nick explains: “Roughly five years ago I was lucky enough to be able to do something that I enjoy as a job, working at The Walkley Beer Co.
“From there I’ve been able to build up my knowledge and expertise in the industry as well as contacts at various breweries. It’s given me a base to be able to come up with some new ideas, and crib a few as well!”
The shop takes its name from one of Nick’s favourite animals, the pangolin, and the protected animal is prominent in the shop’s branding which has been created by Imogen Wood.
“It’s a name that I’ve wanted to use for a long time. Partly it appealed to me because of the way it could be incorporated into the logo. The way they roll themselves into balls makes a beautiful shape to use and the scales on their body make for a lovely texture, especially in monochrome.
Pangolin can be found on Middlewood Road
“We want to be able to use that on things like tote bags and potentially even glassware and T-shirts if there’s demand for them. We also want to have something in place where we can collect and make donations for Pangolins, which we’ll share once we have a plan in place.
“It does seem, in a sense, an odd time to be seeking to open a business, especially one that would rely partly on people being able to sit in your premises and enjoy a drink.
“We’re cautiously optimistic, even though there will probably be unforeseen hurdles and some bombs dropped from Westminster to come, we’ll be ready to ‘pivot’, which I believe is the preferred term, as and when.”
For more info and new opening times, head over to their socials here.
