MARINE STREET SOCIAL REVEALS NEW LOOK AND PARTNERSHIP WITH BURGER JOE ' S
Wirral Life talk to Carl Thomas , Founder of Marine Street Social in New Brighton .
How did you come up with the idea for Marine Street Social ? " Marine Street Social came about after Rob , my business partner , and I had been running electronic events in Liverpool for a number of years . We held some parties in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral , ' The Bombed Out Church ', St . George ’ s Hall and Newsham Park Hospital ( with Cream ) and it basically saw us setting up a site for a day / night event and then stripping it all down again . We tried our hands at a club in Baltic Triangle but to try and fill it every Friday and Saturday was just too much and to be honest I think we were naïve .
I ’ d just moved back to Wallasey , my dad Steve and I had taken on the Cheshire Cheese , and developed the Cheshire Gin Garden and shamelessly styled it on Kazimier garden .
The response from the area was immediate , I think we knew then it was right to start looking at something bigger . I ’ d always thought that New Brighton was lacking something since the closing of the late night venues and the chained restaurants .
The Baltic Market and Altrincham Market had really taken off and we felt if we could find a space large enough we could use it as a multi purpose space , adjustable to the event while doing something similar to the Baltic lads , it would bring something you would usually only find in a major city .
The unit we found was superb , I actually had the idea while going for breakfast with family at Marino lounge . It was a hot day and I could see a roof standing area which had never been used . Usually I ’ m like a dog with a bone when my mind starts throwing ideas out and I would say I ’ m the impulsive type which must be a nightmare for Annie ( my fiancée ), Rob and my dad , because they are usually the ones that have to put my mad plan into action .
I ' m very lucky in that I have a talented team behind me . My fiancée , Annie owns The Bloom Room and she was able to pluck the ideas out of our heads and put them into practice , plus Steve who basically built it from a couple of loose drawings . We weren ’ t the most professional outfit , but the job my dad and his team did was perfect . Rob is excellent on the operations side and now my uncle Andy is running the day to day operations for us so it ’ s a real family business ."
What can customers experience at Marine Street Social ? The bar is based on the Marine Lake in New Brighton and has the best roof terrace views on the Wirral . It can seat over 250 people inside and out . It ’ s a great space for families , young and old .
We ’ ve been open for over 2 years now and have evolved from the initial food market idea , which was based on changing food partners every 3 months , to us partnering with Burger Joe permanently . Burger Joe ' s social accounts are outstanding , their look felt right and most importantly the burgers are sensational , so it was the perfect fit for us .
On Friday and Saturday nights we have sports on the big screens , live music cover bands , new music and DJs . I think it ’ s fair to say pre- Covid we were well on course for our best summer . The planning had gone through for the water park which we had played a big part in bringing to the Wirral for the Marine Lake and we felt that the improvements we had made would allow us to kick on .
What impact has Covid had on the business ? Covid for the hospitality industry has been catastrophic . I am in a Whats App group with some other owners across Merseyside and the amount of people who are having to close is awful . I just can ' t begin to imagine how upsetting that was for their families and staff . It was terrible seeing people writing goodbye notes after pressures
28 wirrallife . com