Baptist church minister, James Karran, plans to open a new micro pub at a former hair salon in Canton, Cardiff.
The micro pub will not be religious-themed, nor will it have music, gambling machines or any spirits. The pub will focus on serving only local real ales at affordable prices, while bringing the community together.
James said: “I have always believed in the idea of bringing communities together, creating a space where people can come and meet each other – and in that way social barriers can be broken down.
“In the past the places where that happened were either the church or the pub. But both of those seem to be dying a bit at the moment, for various reasons.”
James, who is also an associate chaplain at the University of South Wales, is tired of “plastic” commercialised pubs and finds them “soulless” & “devoid of any character” he said.
The application for the new micro pub says: “The layout and business practices of micropubs are aimed at creating a safe, welcoming, community hub. For example, there are no spirits sold, no ‘shots’ and no commercial lager.
“Patrons are encouraged to remain off mobile phones. There are no gambling machines. There is no background music. All seating puts patrons on the same ‘eye level’ to facilitate conversation and relationship building.
“As micropubs focus on selling local ale produced by small, independent producers, having a micropub in this location will also be good for the local economy.”