Lidl Opens Its First 'Middle Ale' Bar Near Belfast
The Middle Ale will open with 8 permanent jobs and more than £500,000 in investment as Lidl uses a purchased licence to sell alcohol on site.
- On Thursday, German discount retailer Lidl officially opened 'The Middle Ale,' a 60-seat pub situated adjacent to its existing store in Dundonald, County Down, Northern Ireland, believed to be the world's first supermarket-owned pub.
- Lidl opened the venue to circumvent strict Northern Irish licensing laws requiring new liquor licenses to be purchased from closing businesses and applicants to prove an area's 'inadequacy' of provision.
- Representing a £500,000 investment and creating eight permanent jobs, the pub features decor inspired by Lidl's 'Middle Aisle' and operates as a separate premises with an off-license accessible via dedicated entrance.
- During opening celebrations, the chain donated £1,000 in gift vouchers to the Dundonald Foodbank, while regional managing director Gordon Cruikshanks called the project a 'milestone' for the company.
- The Campaign for Real Ale Northern Ireland previously labeled the licensing system a 'huge, wasted opportunity,' and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons rejected recommended licensing reforms last November.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The German food discounter Lidl has entered the pub shop in Northern Ireland. In the "Middle Ale" in Dundonald near Belfast, up to 60 guests can enjoy their pint – while drinking at home. The background is a chaos in licensing ... The name of the pub is a word game with "middle aisle", meaning in the UK the Allerlei shelves in the middle of the discount supermarkets. The restaurant is integrated into the supermarket building but has its own entr…
After shopping at Lidl, drink a freshly tapped beer in the in-house pub? This is now possible in Northern Ireland: The discounter opens his first pub there. A clever idea in dealing with the Northern Ireland alcohol law.
Need makes for inventiveness: Because the discounter Lidl in Northern Ireland could not meet official requirements for the sale of alcohol, he now opens his own pub.
saarbruecker-zeitung.de
HandelsblattPub in blue, yellow and red: Whether the discounter charm is caught by the Northern Ireland will still have to be shown. The story of the first Lidl pub is curious anyway.
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