Courthouse Bar unveils its bold new look

It’s taken four years to complete the latest, extensive refurbishment project at Lurgan’s listed Courthouse Bar – but it’s been well worth the wait…

Lurgan’s Courthouse Bar entered an exciting new era in April when the results of an extensive programme of refurbishment were finally unveiled.

The bar itself – located in the town’s former courthouse on William Street – is one of four local venues that belong to the McConaghy family, who have been prominent figures in the town’s hospitality scene for more than 50 years.

Their involvement began in 1959 when Thomas McConaghy bought the Beehive Bar, also on William Street. In subsequent years, the Ashburn Hotel and the Woodville Arms joined the family’s burgeoning portfolio of venues and then in 1996, they purchased the Courthouse Bar.

Thomas McConaghy’s grandson, who is also called Thomas, explained to LCN recently that when the family first took the bar on, they used it to attract customers in the 18 to 30-years age range which they funnelled across the road to their nightclub – The Burn – located at The Ashburn Hotel.

“But as time went on, we were able to extend our opening hours and enhance the offering at The Courthouse to include live entertainment, a pool room and lunchtime food and the venue grew in popularity,” he said.

“But things never stand still in this game and the pre-club segment of the market depleted as people opted to stay at home and pre-load with cheaper take-home alcohol. The subsequent smoking ban and the economic downturn amplified the problems as patrons turned to smaller venues that were able to hold an atmosphere better with fewer people. We knew that The Courthouse, because of its design and scale, needed large numbers to bring it to life.”

It was that realisation that convinced Thomas and the family that modernisation was required and the striking new venue that was recently unveiled corrects the problems that were inherent in the previous bar. It has also been designed to allow future renovations to be rolled-out more efficiently.

Thomas began planning an extensive programme of refurbishment as far back as 2012 and he admitted recently that the renovation process took much longer to complete than he had first anticipated:

“Working with a historic building and all the relevant authorities has lengthened that process,” he remarked. “From the outset, I had a fairly clear idea of how I wanted the bar to operate and to look…There has been a trend in the trade for ‘cheap chic’ for some years and that has its own merits, but it wouldn’t have worked in a bar of this scale with its listed building status.

“The Courthouse is at the opposite end of that scale and it was our aim to make the premises feel as opulent as possible. We want our customers to feel special. They’re going out less often, but they’re in search of a more ‘complete’ experience.

“We find that many of our customers are now opting to trade up to super premium drinks at the bar and this trend is easier to embrace when they’re surrounded by high-end furnishings and elegant toilets.”

The result of the renovation programme is a plush, versatile new venue that maximises all possible revenue sources. There are three distinct bar areas, each with a different atmosphere. In the main bar, the layout has been changed to better facilitate customers that want to watch sport or enjoy live music. Two of the original three pool tables have been retained and moved to better locations.

The former pool room at The Courthouse has now been converted into an eye-catching new lounge area called The Library:

“It has its own entrance which allows us to book that space out for private parties, take later food reservations or use it for overflow on busy nights,” explains Thomas. “We extended the mezzanine floor and also added gents’ toilets and space for dancing.”

Thomas was also able to use a roof area located above The Courthouse off-licence to add a wonderful new beer garden which, he reports has gone down very well with the clientele.

The Courthouse Bar takes its place as the most recent addition to the McConaghy’s well-established portfolio of hospitality venues.

“There are certainly challenges presented when you own four venues in one town, let alone having three on a single street,” said Thomas recently. “You really have to know your market and be able to tailor your offer accordingly.”

He says that the family’s first acquisition – The Beehive Bar – has been very successful following a much-needed renovation in 2007.

“It’s pitched at the 40+ market but in reality, it gets a much more diverse range because it looks so well and it has a great atmosphere,” added Thomas.

The Ashburn is a three-star hotel that was also recently refurbished. It’s known for its well-established food business and The Burn nightclub, which caters for the 18 to late 20’s age range.

And a couple of miles away is The Woodville Arms, which has a reputation for sports; a lounge that offers food at the weekends, a private function room and an off-licence.

Currently, however, most attention is focused on the new-look Courthouse, which opened for business just in time to capture the lucrative St. Patrick’s Day trade:

“We decided to stagger the launch process at The Courthouse,” explained Thomas. “This was to gain some stability and allow a certain amount of time to work through any unexpected issues that might have arisen. We knew that our projected 10-week turnaround to get the bar opened was ambitious”.

“Our initial objective was to get the off-licence refitted and re-opened. We didn’t increase its overall size significantly, but with better design, we were able to increase our refrigeration facilities and product lines in all categories.”

After the main bar was re-opened to the public, Thomas then launched into phase three of the project, which involves establishing a strong food offering at the venue:

“The shortage of good, skilled chefs in Northern Ireland is well known,” he said. “There are a lot of new premises opening up in Belfast and the surrounding area and I think they have taken most of the talent pool. We’ve just embarked on a recruitment drive for food production and front-of-house staff and we hope that it will be easier to attract a good team now that we have this high-calibre venue. But we won’t really be fully operational until we finish the whole project in June.”

Feedback from customers since the refurbishments have been unveiled is described as “very positive”:

“Everyone has really embraced the new look,” added Thomas. “We operate in a very competitive marketplace with direct and indirect competition all vying for the consumers’ hard-earned disposable income. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you really do need to have a point difference and to strive to do your job more effectively than your competitors.

“We certainly feel that the time, effort and money we’ve spent enhancing all aspects of the service at The Courthouse will stand us in good stead for the future as the economy continues to improve.”