Regarded as a ‘den of vice’ in the heart of Bristol’s bustling bar scene, the famed cocktail bar previously known as Red Light is on the market for the first time in almost a decade.
Award winning speakeasy bar Scarlet Lantern, located on Unity Street, is up for sale after nine years since its started as Red Light. Red Light had already built an exclusive following over the years as the city’s ‘top-secret bar’, and was reinvented as Scarlet Lantern in the same location.
While described as ‘the younger, more accessible, and hipper younger sister’ to Red Light's ‘boozier, suave big brother’, Scarlet Lantern’s boudoir-style area aimed to continue the business’s sex appeal and upmarket quality.
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Marketed by Maggs and Allen, the business is offered for sale for £130,000 with a full inventory. Maggs and Allen’s commercial chartered surveyor, Toby Fisher said: “This is a rare opportunity to purchase an established and award winning speakeasy bar located in a central position, benefiting from a rare 24 hour premises licence.”
The Scarlet team told Bristol Live that the decision to put the business on sale was not taken lightly, and as the result of an unmissable opportunity beyond Bristol, they believed it was the right time to take the leap. While they reported that business has continued to be booming, they believe that their next venture in development will mark the start of a new chapter that is integral for growth and expansion.
Scarlet Lantern owner Alistair Woods said: “After nine fantastic years of owning both the multi award winning Red Light and Scarlet Lantern, my beautiful bar is up for sale.
“It was a hugely difficult decision to sell but my path is leading to other ventures, this isn’t the end of the journey and my passion continues within this industry. I want to say a massive thanks to all that were involved but especially my ex long term business partner Richard Tring.”
General manager Amie Smith added: “Essentially we’re not going to be gone in the industry, we’re just closing the doors on Scarlet Lantern and starting something new and exciting. It’s sad to see Scarlet Lantern up for sale because I’ve been a part of it from the beginning.
“But you know, new opportunities come up and part of business is grasping those when you can. Just because Scarlet Lantern will be closing, it doesn’t mean we won’t be working on something like that in the future - it also doesn’t mean that we won’t be back in Bristol to do some new things in the future.
“It just means that for the time being, we have our sight set on a good opportunity that essentially we just got to grasp in these times. Right now we just want to honour the history of Red Light and the history of Scarlet Lantern and just close on a positive note.”
More information about the sale can be found on the Rightmove website here.
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