THE director of two well-known Belfast bars has revealed his plans to restore and reopen a historic pub which has been in his family for generations.
Located on the Antrim Road, The Phoenix was established in 1894 but closed its doors after former landlord Joe Crangle, retired in 2022.
The establishment has been in owner Ciaran Smyth’s family since 1951 when it was bought by his grand-uncle, Jonny Smyth who ran it for over a decade before he passed away in 1965.
Following his death the family let out the bar to other operators until Ciaran, who is also the director of popular Belfast bars Voodoo and Orisha, decided to take it over in 2023.
“My whole family are involved in it now, so it’s been really exciting for all of us to finally be doing this,” he told The Irish News.
He added that it was the success of the Fountain Street venues that inspired him to reopen the north Belfast bar.
“The reason we’d never tried to take it back before was because we didn’t have a bar operation but then we opened Voodoo in 2011, and we’ve been able to build up our experience and knowledge to the point where we feel confident enough to take it over.
“The bar was built in 1847 but didn’t become a public house until ‘94 but it was in an awful state, so we had major refurbishing and structural stuff to do on it.
“But we’ve got it all fixed up and now we’re in the process of finally fitting it out for reopening. It’s been a whole process; we took the bar back in 2023, so it’s really been an ongoing project for the guts of two years.”
However, he believes the time and energy spent on perfecting the pub will serve him well in the long run.
“We really wanted to bring out the original Victorian features of it such as the brickwork and that sort of thing – it’s worth doing well and spending a bit of time on. You want it to be fitted to a good, modern standard so you don’t have to refurbish it again in another couple of years so hopefully people think it looks good,” he added.
With a strong focus on community, Ciaran said The Phoenix will be “a place for everyone.”
“We’re not catering to one community or the other we want it to be for everybody and for everybody to feel comfortable in it.
“We’ll have food in it and a good range of drinks including cocktails and there’s plenty of room in it too – there’s an upstairs for functions and events and thing like that – the guys are currently working on a full entertainment programme.”
“The idea is to just have a place for people who enjoy and respect each other’s company and want to have a good time.”
Although specific dates are yet to be confirmed Ciaran and the team are hoping to welcome their first customers in February.