A new bar complex is set to open in the former Frames snooker hall in Belfast.
Drinks industry entrepreneur Paul Camplisson is preparing to reopen the legendary Little Donegall Street building, with pints, cocktails, coffee and a new ‘Frames’ pool hall all on the menu.
Alongside the cue, ‘The Watson’ will also revive the original name of the red brick building, built for Robert Watson & Co as a furniture showroom and factory building between 1898 and 1907.
The site, just off Royal Avenue, was later repurposed as Frames snooker hall in 1983 by brothers Gerald and Jim Magee.
It quickly became a hub for the snooker craze of the 1980s, with around 50 tables operating at its peak.
The Frames bar, which opened in 1988, became a hub for employees of the neighbouring Belfast Telegraph and Irish News offices, before closing in 2017.
Mr Camplisson, who set up the Drinks Inc distribution operation in 2001, sold his business in 2019 to supermarket group Musgrave for an undisclosed sum.
Since then, he has continued to invest in the hospitality sector, with a portfolio that includes city centre brewpub The Deer’s Head, and Lisburn Road venue The Bowery.
Around the time of the Drinks Inc sale, Mr Camplisson’s pub group Jar (Ire) Ltd submitted plans to redevelop the former Frames complex.
The hospitality venture, which was derailed by the pandemic, is now ready to launch within weeks, with a keen eye on Ulster University’s large city centre student population.
It will feature The Watson pub, with live music and DJs; The Library, a two floor venue featuring a café and cocktail bar; and Frames, a pool hall with 10 tables.
Mr Camplisson is also planning to open Watson’s Wine Warehouse off licence in Spring 2025.
