How do you make a big impact on a city that’s already awash with bars serving top drinks and great food? It turns out, the answer is pretty simple, providing you have the right ingredients. Enter Sam, a veteran brewmaster who cut his teeth making beers in Berlin, and Lee, whose CV traces his experience back to the original wave of craft breweries in Manchester: two experts who met and started working together during lockdown and have continued since with Green Arches.
Calling on more than 15 years of brewing experience and vast knowledge of hospitality, the pair seized a railway arch close to Victoria Station and opted to focus on a winning formula. In their own words, that means “a proper bar where, alongside our own beers, you can also find cocktails, natural wine and everything in between in a welcoming, inclusive space… Everything we do here is DIY and that is a huge part of our ethos and our local crowd. It is built by us, for you all to enjoy. Making a space where you will get to know us and your neighbours was a big deal for us. We wanted to be a local community bar and being a place the Green Quarter has started to call home feels amazing.”
Opening doors late-2022, the location, just on the edge of the city centre, makes this a definite destination, with a loyal customer base quickly establishing itself as a result. Most are here for the small batch beers, all made in premises next door using the freshest ingredients available, although Green Arches also has a strong events game. Regular programming includes DJs and live music happenings, screenings of major events, themed quizzes and community-led parties. Heading back outside, the intimate space, which comes complete industrial light fittings contrasting a serious selection of plants, is complemented by a beer garden, offering a small oasis in a highly urbanised area.