A new underground bar is opening in Birmingham

The opening is part of the Grand Hotel’s redevelopment

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Plans have been revealed which detail a huge new underground bar being created in The Grand Hotel on Colmore row. This exciting new project is part of The Grand Hotel’s redevelopment which is already underway.

The Grand has a rich history; since its construction in 1877, it has become one of Birmingham’s most iconic buildings. However, it has been closed since 2002 and only recently have plans emerged to renovate and re-open the historic hotel. The renovation plans have received a lot of attention both from the public and the press. It has even been shortlisted in three categories in the 2017 RICS awards which are due to take place on the 18th May.

The bar is going to be created in the old boiler room of the hotel, a room which is a staggering 5,000 sq ft in total, something which will make the bar the biggest the city of Birmingham has seen.

Although the bar will be inside the historic hotel, it has been stated that its plans are completely separate to those for the redevelopment of the hotel. It will be fully independent of the hotel with an entrance on Barwick Street, and while it is not yet certain which company will be filling the revolutionary space, chief executive Tony Green has said that they have ‘already had a lot of interest’ and are in conversation with ‘various pubs and bars’.

Green was keen to specify that the new bar would not be another cocktail bar but rather a pub with a traditional and historic feel. It is thought to be more along the lines of New Street’s Bacchus Bar which is already well established and very popular. It will serve local ales, beers, wines, spirits, and of course, food.

However, before you get too excited, the new bar will not be getting underway until after the hotel opens in 2018. Until then, despite its smaller size, the other basement bar already in The Grand, popular cocktail bar ‘The Alchemist’ will have to do!