48 | SME News Midlands Enterprise Awards 2023 Best Alternative Music Bar 2023 - Birmingham Situated in the heart of Birmingham, Subside Bar Ltd is a dedicated rock and alternative music bar that is the perfect destination for anyone who likes their music to come with attitude. Visitors to the bar can expect to find thrilling musical entertainment, exciting events, and a great selection of lagers, traditional ales, ciders, spirits, and soft drinks, all at wallet-friendly prices. Originally located on Paradise Circus next to the Birmingham Town Hall, Subside Bar was established in 2007 to cater to an often overlooked and derided subsection of society: people who listen to rock, metal, and punk music. The bar was a hit with its target audience, attracting customers from across the city and beyond. However, in 2015, Subside Bar had to leave its original venue due to a Compulsory Purchase Order from the Birmingham City Council. Nearly a year later, the bar was able to find a new location in Digbeth, formerly The Dubliner, where it reopened on 1st December. Today, Subside Bar serves as a welcoming space for a community that most city centres actively avoid accommodating. It has become renowned for being a very inclusive safe place, taking care of its customers from entry to exit. With owners, managers, and staff members who come from the rock, metal, and punk scenes themselves, Subside Bar is well-positioned to provide the alternative community with the entertainment they want in a venue they feel comfortable in. This includes rock DJs, bands, student nights, and occasional special events like burlesque, theatre shows, and more. These have been hugely successful and continue to attract new and old customers alike. The senior team behind Subside Bar also have the experience and knowledge they need to secure the best prices with suppliers. This enables it to keep the cost of its beverages extremely low. The bar is famous for its incredible deals on drinks, especially its spirits. For example, it has a 'Double Up For £1' deal where customers can switch a single spirit to a double for just £1 extra. Situated in Birmingham, Subside Bar benefits from its location in a number of ways. The city in which it operates is the home of metal, so it attracts many metal lovers who live nearby. As well as this, the West Midlands in general is the birthplace of many heavy rock and metal artists, including Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and other bands. Subside Bar is also located near several of Birmingham’s large venues, including the O2 Academy, O2 Institute, NIA, NEC, and more. This means that the bar gains business from gig goers who want to spend their postshow parties enjoying some rock and metal music. While hospitality employees tend to come and go, Subside Bar generally keeps its staff for many years. For this reason, the bar has been able to ensure that all of its team members have full personal licenses to demonstrate that they have been trained properly in licensing laws. Additionally, all of Subside Bar’s managers and many of its other staff members have SIA badges, meaning they have been trained in how to notice unusual behaviour in order to protect customers and colleagues to the same level as security staff. When looking to recruit new staff members, Subside Bar primarily seeks people with a friendly demeanour who work well under pressure. In the fast-paced environment of a city centre bar, those who get flustered easily would struggle to do their job properly. As a result of its great prices and musical entertainment, Subside Bar has been awarded Best Alternative Music Bar, Birmingham, in the Midlands Enterprise Awards 2023. Moving forwards, Subside Bar continues to serve as a safe place where fans of alternative music can gather and have fun. However, it believes that there is a lot more that it can do for its niche clientele in the future, so it is currently actively seeking a second venue in Birmingham in which it can expand its offerings. Contact: David Longmate Company: Subside Bar Ltd Web Address: www.subsidebar.co.uk
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