The bar opened in June and has already become a popular venue
Michael Joyce and Michael Parkes at The Feathers bar in Bootle(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“This was something the area needed, somewhere for people to come together”, says Michael Parkes. Michael, 44, is co-director and co-owner of The Feathers, a bar specialising in live music and sport on Harris Drive in Bootle.
The bar opened in June and Michael, from Bootle, runs it with childhood friend and business partner Michael Joyce, 44, also from Bootle. The two have worked together for some time, running a variety of businesses across Merseyside, but as they both have hospitality backgrounds, they wanted to bring a new type of bar to their home town.
Michael told the ECHO: “The reason we opened where it is there are new housing estates popping up in the area. You’ve got a couple of social clubs, but no real bar or community hub.
“This was something the area needed, somewhere for people to come together. You’ve got people living on the same estate who didn’t know each other.
“They drink together and know each other now. They didn’t know each other before but now they’re now friends and looking to book trips away.”
The large open plan space was designed by the two owners to encourage interaction and conversation between drinkers. Michael thinks that has meant it has already become an important social hub.
He explained: “I’m proud of the community spirit we’ve fostered in such a short time. The layout encourages people to interact with each other.
“We have tables of six coming out of the wall. You can be sitting on one table, but be in speaking distance from three other tables, so people get chatting.”
Like many places up and down the country, Bootle has sadly lost many pubs recently. Last year saw the closure of The Mons, while venues like The Strand Tavern and The Stanley closed their doors for good in previous years.
Michael wants The Feathers, which takes its name from a band his business partner used to be in, to inspire a revival in Bootle’s hospitality offering – built around something slightly different and more modern.
He said: “A lot of the people who drink here were town drinkers. But they’ve said they haven’t had to go into town, because they’ve got what they need here. We’re trying to bring town to Bootle.
The Feathers bar in Bootle(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“Bootle Village used to be bouncing but people’s drinking habits have changed. I think the days of the big bars with nooks and crannies are over. We’re one big open room and it lends itself to everybody interacting – you know everyone who is in there.
“Michael was big on having somewhere where the lads can have a pint after work. We’ve got a perfect balance of that – people come in after work to relax and then later in the evening we’ll have couples coming in or people will have a pint, go home and get changed and then come back with their partners.”
However, the bar is at its best at weekends, according to Michael. It has live music on Fridays, Saturdays and gets busy for football on Sunday afternoons. He said: “We’re bouncing on Friday and Saturdays. We get that buy and people turn up and can’t get in. They joke that we’ll have to expand.
“But it’s steady through the week. Sunday afternoons are great as well, there’s a great atmosphere and we do all the live sports. We just want to provide people with entertainment.”
Michael also has plans for the future. The Feathers has an application in with Sefton Council for outside seating, which he hopes will bring a ‘café culture’ to Bootle. He explained: “The outdoor seating is important, we want a café culture, we want to bring that to Bootle. That European style – the south end and Crosby try to do it, but there’s less of that up here.
“We want that, it’s going to be appealing, south facing, you’ll get the sun all day. I think it would be a huge draw for the business and a real asset for the community and for the people of Bootle.
“We’re the first bar in Bootle doing it like this, bringing a new approach.”
The Feathers is found at 1 Harris Drive, Bootle, L20 6LD.