Specialist bottle shop and bar 4 monkeys opened in December on Rufus Court.

“Obviously we’ve got Alexanders over the way, and in more recent years whenever I’ve been going away I seek out places where you can try different beers. We’ve got some great places already in Chester, but I found that when we went to those, my wife struggled because she doesn’t drink beer. One of the things we looked at when we were thinking of a new place was that we had to have a really good range of beers but also spirits and wine. It started as a bit of an idea and we viewed a few different locations over the last two years. ”

Prior to opening the new venue, Jamie had the task of leading Alexanders through the Covid pandemic. “It was difficult. It was a new angle on difficult. I never thought that I’d be staying up all night writing grant applications and trying to save my business. My day to day job went from booking acts to cancelling acts. It still is a struggle with energy prices and the cost of living, people are still coming out but they’re spending less. We are not the kind of people just to sit back, I wanted to do something else. ” With the movement of Glass Deva to Northgate street, the unit became available leading to an extensive refurbishment and fit out including a lot of help from Jamie’s family and friends.

4 monkeys offers over 100 different beers and ciders many from local breweries. “Pollys which is brewed in Mold . Breweries from Shropshire and Manchester. Its been really interesting meeting with the different suppliers and brewers. Wheatwood which is a staple for the area. With their product we’ve tried to bring in examples that you can’t buy in the supermarkets. Alongside a range of premium spirits, we’ve looked for the kind of things you can’t get in other places. “ The venue offers a small food menu including scotch eggs pork pies and bar snacks.

Jamie reports that Christmas trade was positive. He also hosted a beer tasting, with a gin tasting (hosted by Three Wrens Distillery) taking place in March. ” We are also pushing that you can hire us for private events, theres lots of fun things in the pipeline. “

Jamie took over Alexanders in November 2015. He says the courtyard has inevitably changed. “Its obviously changed immensely we are very hospitality heavy now on this ground floor, but we all get on . The other businesses all link in as well. I was up having a tattoo in the studio last week, Last summer we hosted some festivals and they went really well.”

To many Rufus Court remains a hidden gem. “We are hidden away and we get very little passing trade. I’m well aware if we had opened this shop on Northgate street we would be a lot busier, but we would have much higher costs. We wouldn’t have the courtyard, the garden which are so busy in the summer months. I might get one customer today, but as soon as the summer months roll in we’ll be fine.

“I arrived in Chester 18 years ago. We are more of a destination for nights out and eating out now. I miss the smaller one off boutique shops. We still have some and they’re great. We used to come up to Wales on holiday and make a special trip to come shopping in Chester, I don’t know if I’d do that now. The food in Chester is great now, theres so much choice.”

Finally Jamie took a personal inspiration for the name of his new bar. “I looked at the Prohibition times and a lot of it revolved around animals. You’d be invited in to get your gin but you’d be asked to come and see a “striped tiger” or a “blind pig”, all these weird and wonderful things. I fixated on an animal theme. My three year old was running around the house saying “I’m daddy’s cheeky monkey. It fell into place when we found out we were having twins, so my 4 girls are my 4 monkeys”

Opening hours Mon Tue 12 – 5  Thurs- Sat 12-11 Sun 12-5 (closed Wednesdays)