New Kings Heath craft beer bar

Schooners Bar has been granted a licence to open until 1am on weekends, serve late night food, and host live music

Kate Knowles - Local Democracy Reporter | Tuesday 19th July 2022 9:58am

A new craft beer bar in Kings Heath has been granted a licence to serve late night food and show live music until 1am on weekends. Schooners Bar will replace the I Had One of Those sweet and gift shop on York Road – and the once dilapidated building has had a face lift.

The 60-person premises have been renovated over the last four months with a newly-crafted wooden bar, exposed brickwork, and deep green tiling. Schooners is not a large party venue, but somewhere for craft beer fans to sample and discuss different brews, it says.

However, the number of food and drink establishments on York Road has grown as the low-traffic-neighbourhood spot has become more popular. Two York Road residents were unhappy with the original application for a 1am licence on Thursday nights, and submitted an objection to the plans, citing the need to keep a “good quality of life for all local residents”.

But some local residents also complained that another late night business will be setting up shop on the street which has only become busy in recent years. Families have been living there long before the road got a reputation as a hospitality hotspot.

Their objection letter said: “We understand that Kings Heath is a vibrant community and we want it to remain so. We don’t expect silence. 

“We are unhappy with the area immediately around York Road becoming effectively a ‘sacrifice zone’ so that York Road can become an area for outdoor and late night drinking, mostly serving people who don’t live in the immediate surrounding area.”

Schooners Bar is the passion project of John-Paul McCaughey, James McLaughlin, and Neil Corcoran. The business began life as a mobile bar, with bookings at festivals and parties, but the onset of Covid in 2020 obliterated trading opportunities and the group had to rethink their business plan.

Speaking to Birmingham City councillors last week, John-Paul McCaughey said: “Everything we sell is local only; nothing outside of the Midlands region. Our USP [unique selling point] was to keep supporting people who have supported us to get off the ground and stock things which people are making two or three roads down or half a mile away.”

The business owners conceded the Thursday 1am licence would be disruptive to residents and withdrew that element of their application. They have been granted licences for late night food, live music, and 1am closing on Fridays and Saturdays.

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