A social media post said: “Good news! Bullitt will be back on Thursday 4th August for city stays, amazing food and delicious drinks. So head over to bullitthotel.com now to book your room before they all get snapped up!

“More exciting re-opening details to come soon – watch this space!”

In April, Beannchor Group boss Bill Wolsey told LCN how he looked on in horror as firefighters helped avert a major catastrophe at the Belfast city centre venue on March 29.

At the time he said: “We are relieved that no-one was injured and all the systems we had in place worked perfectly and the emergency services and our own staff were simply amazing.

“No-one is being made redundant as a result of this and we look forward to having the whole business open again as soon as possible.

“All of our staff were magnificent, not just while the fire was going on but also in how they looked after guests who had booked in afterwards

“Bullit has been building steadily since we opened and has been hugely successful, but it will come back just as strong. It’s just one more problem to be overcome.”

The hospitality entrepreneur, above, also told LCN that while he was confident about the hotel’s future, sourcing materials and the right people to carry out often complex work was still a huge problem for his business and others.

“You could not get a more difficult time in terms of supply lines and builders. Brexit kicked it off, being closed during the lockdowns accelerated it and you also now have the global impact of the war in Ukraine. For instance, all the extractor systems for The Lark bar which we opened in Lisburn came from there.”

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service commander David Harbinson said the fire at Bullit could easily have spread across rooftops of adjoining buildings creating a major incident and hailed the work of those who brought it under control.

“We deployed a number of firefighters in to confirm there were no people in the building.

“There are about 74 rooms plus a large reception area and restaurant section, and we worked our way through the floors while also dealing with the fire at the same time.

“We have well-rehearsed plans for events like these and they worked very well for us on the day.”

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What was The Tuesday Bell in Lisburn Square is set to become The Lark, a live music venue and restaurant.

Work has already begun on site and the two-storey transformation, to include a fully heated and covered outdoor area, should create 30 jobs when complete.

Downstairs will host live music and offer an “extensive and creative drinks menu featuring craft beers and cocktails”, while the first floor will become the Group’s second ‘Yardbird’ restaurant – mirroring its Cathedral Quarter sister bar, The Dirty Onion.

The 60-seater “family-friendly” dining venue will specialise in rotisserie chicken, ribs and wings.

Last year Beannchor opened its £4m hotel, Haslem, in the Square, while in 2017 it added a Lisburn branch to its Little Wing Pizzeria empire.

‘Increasing demand’

Beannchor director, Conall Wolsey, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the development team at Lisburn Square again and bringing our expertise to transform the city’s former Wetherspoon’s pub into a more modern establishment.

“Opening The Lark is a demonstration of the confidence we have in Lisburn and the increasing demand from locals who are searching for premium food, beverage and leisure experiences that match those of Belfast city.

“With this significant refurbishment, we hope the venue will appeal to a wider audience group than its predecessor and further boost the Square’s day and night-time economy.”

The Tuesday Bell closed at Christmas and a Wetherspoon spokesman said: “At present, Wetherspoon is not looking at any other sites in Lisburn, however, we would not rule out returning to open a pub there in the future.”

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At present, the scheme – which has provided a vital lifeline to workers and businesses across the UK since lockdown began – has been extended to run until the end of September.

But speaking to this magazine on July 1 – two days before the trade was set to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown – Beannchor’s Bill Wolsey delivered his own stark assessment of the industry’s prospects.

‘If the government drops its furlough scheme and if it keeps the one-metre rule in place until Christmas, then there is going to be a bloodbath in our industry,’ he warned.

Beannchor was one of the first to act as the threat from coronavirus became clear in mid-March, laying off 800 staff and temporarily closing most of its considerable portfolio of hotels and bars. All those premises will be re-opening today in line with the new coronavirus guidelines, but Mr Wolsey, who is known for his candour, is realistic about the chances of success:

‘We don’t think that we’re going to make any money,’ he said. ‘The best that we can hope for is to break even and be able to keep staff working. What we’re going to do is give this two weeks to see how we go. If there isn’t sufficient trade, then we’re going to have to make redundancies.’

Mr Wolsey believes that the very best outcome he can hope for by the end of July is 70 per cent of pre-coronavirus turnover in Beannchor’s bars and 50 per cent in its hotels. In August, however, employers will have to start paying a portion of the furlough scheme’s expenses themselves and Mr Wolsey believes that could be the breaking point for many hospitality businesses:

‘If they expect us to pay people from businesses that are losing money, that won’t work,’ he said. ‘It would be difficult for us and impossible for smaller businesses. You can’t pay five percent, never mind 20 per cent, of something you don’t have.’

The hospitality trade in NI employs around 65,000 people and Mr Wolsey believes that in a worst case scenario, as many as 25 per cent could be made redundant:

‘That’s 16000 people losing their jobs,’ he added. ‘There was a hue and cry recently over job losses at Bombardier, so I can only imagine what it would be like if our industry was to lose up to 16000.’

He does, however, hold out some hope of a brighter future for the trade, providing government support is forthcoming:

‘If the R number stays down and if they allow ‘wet bars’ to open in August, then hopefully we will be back to normal by September,’ he said. ‘And from September to Christmas, I think we will be able to trade at the level we were at before, perhaps even stronger.’

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Mr Wolsey, whose Beannchor Group acquired the troubled business at the end of August, is expected to invest heavily in the family-owned property, which has been trading under a Company Voluntary Arrangement since October 2016.

‘The situation is that we have acquired the hotel and are now getting to grips with the business,’ he told LCN on Monday, adding that he hoped to be able to reveal more details about his development plans ‘possibly after Christmas’.

Built in the early 60s, the 56-bedroom property has been a major part of the thriving east Belfast community in which it sits for many years. It was, perhaps, the province’s first bespoke hotel, created in an era when most of its contemporaries were still located in what were once residential dwellings.

A new and refurbished Park Avenue was opened in 1967 following a devastating fire three years before and at that stage, only three of its bedrooms offered en suite facilities.

Various extensions and refurbishments have taken place over the years. In the early 90s, around £10m was invested, creating a more compact and luxurious venue and, about 19 years ago, a major refurbishment saw all the rooms finally converted to en suite. That created a need for additional space which saw the tally of rooms at the Park Avenue drop from 76 to its current 56.

Conference facilities and a new, modern frontage were added about nine years ago and the bedrooms, bathrooms, bar and restaurant were all upgraded allowing the hotel to shift to four-star status.

Twelve new jobs were created at the hotel four years ago when critically-acclaimed chef and restaurateur, Marco Pierre White chose the Park Avenue to host the first of his steakhouse and grill outlets in Northern Ireland.

It is no secret, however, that the hotel has been struggling financially in recent years. When it entered the CVA in 2016, it had liabilities of around £600,000, including a debt of 425,000 to its biggest creditor, HMRC.

Hopes will be high that under Beannchor – NI’s largest hospitality group – this long-standing and popular community hotel can look forward to a renaissance in its fortunes going forward.

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