Roxy 171 is the name of a legendary live music venue in London, and the inspiration behind the new name of the former Liquid Ship on Glasgow’s Great Western Road. It was acquired by Hamish McLean’s Jimmy’s Bar Ltd in December of last year, and the bar closed for a £50k refurbishment for a total of 18 days last month last month under the stewardship of Hamish’s son and GM, Jamie McLean.
He says, “No operator can afford not to be trading for too long so it was essential that the wok was carried out swiftly, and we were lucky to work with some excellent people who assured that it was and to an excellent standard. We did have to wait a while for the planning application to be processed and this gave us all time to sit down and thrash out what we wanted from the design.
“Roxy is also the name of our family dog, and 171, the pub’s address. But the main thinking behind the name was the live music element, as this is an integral part of put business, and this gave us a steer for the design.”
There are two bars, the main one at ground level, and a basement space for live gigs, comedy and the like. Lansdowne Consultancy worked on the design and the main contractor was Liam Duggan.
The layout remains pretty much the same as before at ground level, with a bus stop sign and two old Glasgow Subway partitions either side of a pew bench seat the only echoes of the past. Beginning with the bar, the gantry has changed, likewise the adjacent kitchen, which has been both expanded and modernised. Says Jamie, “The gantry used to consist of two old bookshelves, now we have a dark wood gantry surround with glass shelves, new bar top in beech wood and darker slatted bar front. The kitchen, just along from the bar, has also been redesigned, and we’ve installed some new equipment and a higher servery. We are now entirely self-sufficient so that all the cooking is done on site and still in full view of all the customers.”
The stools are still at the window with a shelf for drinks, although all the wood has now been painted a lot darker, although the exposed brick wall opposite the bar, and above the pew, has been whitewashed. There is also a rather interesting and striking circular light in glass with clear bulbs visible, with exposed elements.
Further into the bar, the very back area has been improved upon tenfold, compared to how it was. The once low couches and tables are no more, and in their place, banquette seating all along the corner wall, paired with tables and chairs. “The couches were not really practical or an effective use of this space,” says Jamie. “They were at too low an angle that made for an uncomfortable dining experience, and invariably in the day, one person would sprawl along one couch with a paper, effectively making it off limits for other customers.”
The staircase between the two floors now boasts a spray paint mural and a chandelier. On the day of my visit they were just about to place a signed guitar used by Cure front man, Robert Smith, which is to be displayed in an ingle on the stairs behind some safety glass. Jamie has also collected several pieces of music-related artwork from The Roxy in London, which are yet to be hung around the bar.
Downstairs is intimate. Although, together with designer Sara Jones of Lansdowne Consultancy in Glasgow, the limited space in the basement has been more effectively utilised, by switching the position of the bar and stage. Says Jamie, “The space is now a lot more malleable since we removed the large fixed table in the middle of the floor and this make for a better flow to the bar, and greater visibility of the stage.” The bar looks terrific, with a beautiful new beech top and dark slatted wood front, just like its ground floor counterpart. The exposed brickwork has been cleaned up and freed from clutter to show it off to its optimum, with sparse spot lighting and glass shelving making up the simplistic gantry. There are also some bare bulbs with exposed filaments hanging from pendants above the bar, and they look sleek and stylish.
The stone floor has been cleaned up and the stage is simply an elevated area covered on a black carpet tile material. The wall opposite the bar is exposed brick painted in cream with a spray painted mural at the end of the wall nearest the stage. There is one nod to its previous incarnation in the form of a stained glass window of a ship in the curved wall which houses the office just at the foot of the stairs before you enter the main space, which can be curtained off for private events, as this is also where the toilets are located.
Both floors are certainly a lot more comfortable, cleaner and stylish, plus there’s a cleverer use of space, given the odd shape of the building. A triumph of a design.
Design Focus: Roxy 171
