A Bolton bar owner has spoken out about what it means to be included in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Good Beer Guide.

Ryan Bailey is one of the co-owners of Northern Monkey bar. Beer served at the Nelson Square bar comes from the company’s microbrewery just 10 minutes away on Chorley Street.

It’s been so successful that, in May this year, the brewery – which celebrated its sixth birthday last week – opened another location in Lytham, Lancashire – one of five locations across the country.

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Speaking to The Bolton News a day after the company’s staff summer party in Blackpool, Ryan put the bar’s success – with its consistent appearance in the Good Beer Guide – down to its roots as a family business.

He said: “It’s just a great achievement, since the day we opened we’ve managed to be consistently in the Good Beer Guide, which is testament to the staff, really, and the fact we make it in Bolton and serve it to the best it can be.

“We’re a family business, which is rare these days – family-owned independent business, to actually be bucking the trend of pubs closing down, we’re reliant heavily on loyal customers and we’ve got a great reputation from the people of Bolton and further afield that support us.

“Without customers, then obviously there’s nobody drinking the beer and we wouldn’t be in the Good Beer Guide, it’s all down to the returning customers and the fact that they’re coming back because the staff treat them so well and the beer comes out tasting good – we take a lot of pride in what we do.”

Ryan also thanked his staff for helping with the success of the business, adding: “Hospitality isn’t easy – the people that we’re relying on are working at the times when everyone else is enjoying themselves.

“It’s not an easy job to be in, but we’ve got the right people and they enjoy working for us, and hopefully we look after them equally.”

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Looking ahead to the future, the bar has just reintroduced food to its menu after taking the decision earlier this year to stop due to rising costs.

Now, Ryan says, pizza has been reintroduced following the bar’s sixth birthday on Saturday, September 21.

A customer baked a Northern Monkey-themed birthday cake to celebrate the brewery's sixth year, flavoured with the company's own stoutA customer baked a Northern Monkey-themed birthday cake to celebrate the brewery's sixth year, flavoured with the company's own stout (Image: Northern Monkey)

With customers’ spending habits and the bar’s budget remaining ‘tight’, Ryan hopes that the new government can do more to help businesses by looking at VAT and business rates in order to lower prices.

He added: “It’s just pizzas, there’s not going to be an extensive menu – we’re trying to keep it simple, but the pizzas were well-received when we did do them.

“You’ve got to manage the outgoings and incomings and make sure that the bills aren’t more than what we’re selling.

“We’ve just got to take it slow and not overstretch ourselves.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.