Tucked away in a corner of deepest Salford is an oasis of calm, inspired by the hidden riad gardens of Morocco. In fact, you wouldn’t even know that the Adelphi Lads Club was there - with its blank sign, bolted to the wall on a quiet residential street.
But this could well be one of the hits of the summer. Head up the alleyway off North George Street, around a corner, past the metal fences and the out of control foliage, and you’re into a dim brick corridor, with only some spooky graffiti for company.
Once inside, it all starts to make a bit more sense. Through some heavy plastic butcher curtains, and the main bar opens up in front of you.
Beyond, there’s the pull of one of the biggest gardens in the city, half covered by a huge bedouin-inspired tent, and littered with bohemian low brass tables. The surrounding wall is painted a deep and resonant blue, inspired by the famous Yves Saint Laurent garden in Marrakech. There's also a sprinkle of the edgy biergartens of Berlin.
Co-owner Callum Broome is among those bringing the lads club back to life. Built in 1888, and pre-dating the more famous Salford Lads Club, it was intended to keep the impoverished youngsters of the neighbourhood off the streets, with a gymnasium, sports courts, billiards and some strong moral guidance from its founder, Walter Southern, a 23-year-old teacher.
It offered everything from clog and boot repair, to choral singing, and in later years built a huge cinema auditorium and squash courts. Over nearly a hundred years, it succeeded in keeping the youth of Salford diverted, but it finally closed its doors for the last time in 2008.
Falling into disrepair, and then squatted in for many years, fire ripped through the building in 2010, and it’s been left derelict ever since, until developer Reform bought it late last year. Broome, who has run festival bars from Glastonbury to Morocco (hence the inspiration), and also worked for Manchester Pride, has now stepped in to transform the place, alongside business partner Alex, former site manager for the likes of The Warehouse Project and Parklife.
Retaining the name, and pouring in their own blood, sweat and tears, Broome and his team transformed the place over the space of just five weeks, and last weekend it opened up to family and friends. Now it’s ready to face the public, with a host of top flight music programming, an outside DJ booth and a revolving door of food operators, with the kitchen opening next week.
“It’s been amazing to bring this place back to life,” Broome told the Manchester Evening News. “In its heyday, it must have been absolutely amazing. Some of the contractors that were coming in would say ‘I used to play football here when I was a kid’. One of the local councillors came to see us and said ‘I used to come here every week to do gymnastics’. It’s nice to be bringing that back, a sense of community.”
Outside, a dedicated barbecue space is being built, for the food traders to use, while Talk To Me Pizza will be moving over from its former home at Stage & Radio on Port Street. Reform Radio will have a mid-week residency, with promoters like High Hoops coming in to curate the music too. Local brewery ShinDigger will also be hosting events, and this Sunday (June 26), night time economy advisor and Warehouse Project boss Sacha Lord will launch his ‘Hospitality Hour’ event at the venue, giving away free drinks between 5pm and 6pm.
Broome is also keen to highlight the venue’s proximity to the city centre. “The moment you say Salford, people assume it’s far away,” he says. “We’re like 10 minutes walk from the Northern Quarter.” The venue will open from Thursdays to Sundays, from 4pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 12pm on a Saturday, until 1am, with the garden closing at 10pm.
“It’s a new space,” he goes on. “Launching a bar just out of lockdown and at a time when people are struggling financially, it’s important to get it right. And we don’t want to do the building a disservice either, but what it was, it can never be again. We need to reflect what people want now.
“We are a pop-up. We’ll definitely be here for three to six months, but like Ramona, where it once was a pop-up but now it’s working, we could run and run. We’ve plans for winter, and how we’d cover more area, make more heated areas. Adaptability is easy. So we’re having those conversations.”
Adelphi Lads Club, 50 North George Street, Salford, M3 6DW
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