Former Brewdog bar to reopen as live music venue
Owen Sennitt/BBCOne of the UK's 38 bars to close after craft beer firm Brewdog went into administration is set to be reopened as a live music venue.
Hundreds of people were made redundant across the country after administrators were brought in earlier this year, including at the Queen Street bar in Norwich.
Norfolk businessman Marcus Pearcey plans to move his Butcher Bhoy venue from Exchange Street into the vacant property, with plans to provide live music and sport over the two floors.
He said: "We want to inject live music on to Queen Street and make it a really vibey area in the city centre."
Brewdog shut its bar in the city suddenly as part of a nationwide collapse, leading to the closure of venues and hundreds of job losses.
The Grade II listed building in Norwich is believed to have been built in the 17th Century and was formerly the Hogshead pub before Brewdog took it over.
Pearcey hopes to give Butcher Bhoy an "amazing platform to re-engineer itself" and be open in time for the World Cup.
The vacant building is also opposite another of Pearcey's bars, Kerry's.
'Pressure is intense'
Pearcey said the current Butcher Bhoy premises would become a Mexican restaurant.
The businessman acknowledged the current economic climate was causing problems for hospitality businesses.
He said: "The market is terrible, the pressure on everything is intense.
"But you either stand still or you attack it and hope the way we operate will allow us to win more than we lose."
A pavement licence application has been made to Norwich City Council ahead of the venue opening.
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