“We have been looking at small units to do something cosy, with good spirits, wine, for a bit of an older demographic than we’d been working with for a while. “ says Joe Dunne, one of the owners of the recently opened Flat Earth Bar on Newgate street.

“Steve (co owner) and I had been part of the management and ownership of Popcorn for a long time. We left there a few months ago, we wanted something that felt a bit different with character to it. Something that feels a bit lived in and relaxed. So far feedback has been perfect. People walk in and they instantly smile, it has that warmth and cosiness that we we wanted. ”

The Flat Earth occupies the former Plumbers Arms which closed back in 2020. Deceptively large the bar extends all the way back to the city walls including 2 outdoor seating areas.

” We took the keys in June from Max Walker Williams who owns the hotel next door, he was looking for an operator to do the sort of thing that Steve and I wanted. Izzy Grey helped put us in touch . We walked into a plaster boarded shell with new skylights at the back and a bit of an extension with a bit of a building site out at the back. We didn’t have to do much it was a bit of a blank canvas. We struggled a bit with where to put things as its such a skinny room . What we always wanted was a pub that felt like a welcoming city boozer. ”

The bar’s interesting theme is inspired by flat earth conspiracy theories and the unexplained with décor covering everything from the Yeti to lake monsters and faked moon landings. The art was sourced from independents and poster shops and includes scanned book covers. “We found non fiction books….fiction (?) I’m treading on thin ice with the description ! “ laughs Joe. “The conspiracy wall is a work in progress. I want that to be interactive. What we don’t want on there is something that is an actual conspiracy!”

Manager Lester tells us that: “It is tongue in cheek but we have had the actual Flat Earth society hold a meeting in here 2 months in a row!”

Continues Joe, “We did make it aware that we weren’t fully serious and we weren’t on board with it! The irreverence of calling it the Flat Earth has become the talking point so we can’t alienate those we have borrowed the name from. They have to be quite defensive by the nature of the things they believe, but I want to keep it at arms length and not engage!” (See https://thechesterblog.com/2017/11/04/chester-flat-earth-society/ )

Of the challenges to the hospitality sector he says: “Its a sword of Damocles over all of us. By the will of God or the illuminati, or whoever you believe in, it can all go wrong at any time. Its a fickle industry. What me and Steve want is to create somewhere and unique. Places like that don’t tend to fare well but that’s what we want to do. Chasing high street money is all well and good but its not what we want. We’re happy with the risk. We grew up in the industry we love it!”

Quirky signage greets visitors to the bar offering a “Fishmonger Pub undertaker” Joe says that historically this part of Chester was known as flesh mongers row. ” It was an area where the ice that was bought into town was kept. We can imagine a reality where someone comes in with a dead body, buys a pint and some fish to take home.” The text was the original signage discovered during renovation. “We love it because we just want as many talking points as possible. We had a row of celebrity owned spirits. We had Kendal Jenner’s Tequila, Danny DeVito’s limoncello and Rod Stewarts whiskey. We are guiding the customer to things that make us happy and excited.”

“One thing I’ve been loving is all the stories coming from people that came here when it was The Plumbers. It was all sorts it had a crazy life. We have some funny cherished memories of this place but we’re glad its not the same anymore. ”

The Flat Earth is open 12- 12 daily