One of Bolton's most-loved bars is opening a sister venue for an 'earlier crowd'. The Oasis-inspired Definitely Maybe Bar has been a huge success in the town centre, despite opening a month before the initial lockdown, in February 2020. Owned by Bolton's very own Gallagher brothers, Paul and Mark, the bar has become incredibly popular due to its regular live music offering.
New venture The Green Room is set to have a more 'relaxed' atmosphere but Paul admits there will still be occasional acoustic performances to 'aid the vibe'. He told the Manchester Evening News : "We're aiming for an earlier crowd. We only have a licence until 10pm here.
READ MORE: I compared a 'Wigan kebab' and a Bolton pasty barm and the winner is undisputed
"We're a live music venue so this ties in with it being a backstage type of vibe where you can relax and chill before going to the main event downstairs [at Definitely Maybe].
"We will put live music on in here from time-to-time. We have built a little stage in the corner and we have a little PA so we can have a person with a guitar so that's what we'll do. We think it really aids a vibe but it won't be every night like it will down there."
The bar is situated on the corner of Nelson Square and Bowkers Row and is incredibly close to Definitely Maybe - with an alleyway to the back linking both venues. "The idea for this came along because we were turning people away," Paul said.
"It was one-in-one-out and it was getting a bit much, so we wanted to expand and this unit was available. It's in a great spot so we just thought let's go for this.
"It gives us a visible presence on Nelson Square where all the other bars are and you can bounce from place to place. There's four of five nice places here now with Northern Monkey and Courthouse behind us as well.
"What's happening here should pull people back into the square. It might take a while and we're thinking of doing things that can make the area more attractive to people coming back
"There are safety things we can do like Night Angels, putting people into taxis, even having our own shuttle taxis because one thing people say is that getting a taxi can be quite daunting in this town.
"We can't do it all at once. It might be a bit of a slow burner but hopefully we can do it over the next couple of years."
The inside of the venue is a lot brighter and more airy than Definitely Maybe Bar with big windows and foliage hanging from the ceiling. There are still nods to Oasis throughout and the font on the sign has even been hand-written by Brian Cannon - whose handwriting is best known from the Definitely Maybe album cover, which he also designed.
Paul added: "We have a good relationship so rang him and asked him if he'd do it. I said 'can I borrow your handwriting' and his exact words were 'what again?' so we had a bit of a laugh and he PDF'd this over to me that evening.
"I'm dead happy with it because it's got a story and people can recognise it for years to come hopefully."
The Green Room is set to open in August. For more information, visit the bar's Facebook page.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
