Venue to become ‘Instagrammable’ town cocktail bar
FORMER HOME OF RIFT TO GET NEW LEASE OF LIFE
A FORMER Scunthorpe venue of many a night out is poised to get a new lease of life as the town’s “most Instagrammable bar”.
A licensing application has been made to North Lincolnshire Council for a cocktail bar at 177-187 High Street. This was the former home of Rift until its closure in 2018, and before that, Abacus.
Pink Parrot, which already has a bustling bar in Whitefriargate, Hull, will move in, should the licence be granted.
It comes as another Hull-based business, Dope Burger, moves music indoors, and the sale of closer to opening a restaurant in alcohol for consumption on and off Scunthorpe. premises, from 10am to 4.30am. It is
The premises licence application expected the venue could be open is for the playing of live and recorded by this summer.
Fans at the Abacus, Scunthorpe, which later became Rift, watch England play Italy in the 2014 World Cup
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to Adam Smith, licensee and one of the three directors who own PNG Export Services Limited, the company behind Pink Parrot.
“I’ve got three bars in Hull as it stands. The Scunthorpe bar would be the second Pink Parrot.
“It’s one of the busiest bars in Hull at the minute,” he said of Pink Parrot’s success so far.
The Hull bar has vivid pink colours throughout inside, and on its exterior. It offers a range of tropical and classic cocktails. It has a big dancefloor in the middle of the bar next to the DJ booth.
There are velour seats and tables alongside the walls. To give an Ibiza vibe, the walls are covered with flowers as well as palm trees.
“All my Pink Parrot bars are Instagrammable, it’s going to be Scunthorpe’s most Instagrammable bar” said Mr Smith. These include changing photo walls and props.
Hull’s bar has featured a throne, a motorbike, and dancing poles since it opened in spring 2022.
Mr Smith estimated the new Scunthorpe bar would end up creating ten to 15 jobs. He also confirmed plans to open by midsummer.
Dope Burger confirmed last year plans to move into Scunthorpe. In December, they announced on social media that its Scunthorpe franchise was set to open in “early 2024”.
So far, they have been coy over the precise location, other than it is in the town centre, and have confirmed to the LDRS it has a DN15 postcode.
Because of this, it is unclear if there is yet a linked planning or licence application.
Established in 2011 by Oliver Johnson, the business has grown over time and even won a BBC TV programme competition for Britain’s Top Takeaway in its burger-themed episode in 2022. Its trademark ‘Black and Blue’ burger served in a rainbow-coloured bagel blew judges away.
“We have so many loyal customers travelling over from Scunthorpe and we are really excited for Scunthorpe to have a Dope Burger location for itself,” said a spokesperson. “It promises to be our most modern site yet boasting plenty of booth seating for families to enjoy.”
Adam Smith
Dope Burger
It’s going to be Scunthorpe’s most Instagrammable bar