We previously announced Mark Hall’s plans to relocate The Split Chimp micropub, which only opened a year ago on Forth Street in Newcastle.
After a highly successful first year, Mark has now relocated the micropub, just around the corner to a bigger premises, from Arch 11 to Arch 7. After being at maximum capacity every weekend, Mark felt like a change was needed to continue providing customers with a comfortable atmosphere.
Mr. Hall made all of the internal changes himself, to create a stunning two floor micropub that can comfortably hold Split Chimp fans.
The new location does not only mean more breathing room, Mark now offers a wider variety of drinks and is also looking to hire new members of staff to help with the demand.
He said: “We were doing really well round the corner and on a Friday and a Saturday it was getting uncomfortably busy, so I thought it would be worthwhile moving to a new area, into a bigger unit, with more footfall.
“We’ve only been open a few days and it’s been highly successful, much busier than the other place, so we’re going to have to have more staff.
“Opening hours are longer – we were open from 4pm but now open from 1pm, Tuesday to Saturday – and at the moment it’s just me and one other person serving. We need three to four people to give everyone breaks from their shifts.”
He continued:
“I’ve done it all myself and paid for it all myself. I’ve not taken a wage for a year, but this is what we were building up to so that I can now take a wage.
“We’ve now got six pumps on, which is 100% more than before, and only one is lager – there’s no Carlsberg or Fosters here – and we’ve introduced cider, and we’ve also got the skittle alley now, the only one in the region.
“I’ve got future plans too, including putting on live music and also introducing some pop-up food events, which should give small food businesses a chance to show off what they can do. I’m in talks with some already and want to hear from more.
“We did well in first Spilt Chimp but this gives more people the opportunity to have real ales.”