JW Lees ploughs £700k into reopening Rain Bar

09-Mar-2023 - Last updated on 09-Mar-2023 at 10:56 GMT

Interiors redecorated: there are nods to Manchester’s industrial past at the revamped Rain Bar

Family brewer and pub operator JW Lees will officially reopen its Rain Bar after a £700,000 redevelopment of the freehold site.

Rain Bar, on Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester, has been described by the operator as a “premium pub-restaurant” that has created more than 20 new jobs and reopens today (Thursday 9 March).

The site was first opened by JW Lees, which brews beers such as Bitter and Manchester Pale Ale – in both cask and keg – plus more modern styles from its Boilerhouse collection including Dry Hop Lager and Custard Pie Pale, in 1999 when it was converted from an umbrella factory.

Now the site houses: “A stunning centrepiece bar, comfortable dining and drinking areas, open fireplaces and a choice of impressive events spaces, make it suitable for anything from a simple drinks reception to a city centre wedding, as well as being a little bit special.”

Magnet for customers

JW Lees continued: “The award-winning canal-side beer garden is a magnet for customers in the summer the new bifold doors make it easier to access the terraces when the sun comes out.”

There is also a nod to its industrial background with an LS Lowry-inspired pictorial pub sign.

A food menu offers pub classics from burgers to steaks to a Sunday roast.

JW Lees managing director William Lees-Jones said: “We first opened Rain Bar in 1999 when it was welcomed into Manchester's growing hospitality trade, winning The Publican Award in 2000 for the best new pub/bar in the UK and Manchester’s City Life award for the best beer garden in central Manchester – 23 years and £700k later, we are reopening, ready to welcome guests old and new.”

Can’t wait for summer

Rain Bar general manager Alex King added: “I joined JW Lees five years ago and we’ve been planning the refurbishment and reopening since then, and now Covid is behind us, we can’t wait for the summer.

“It’s a stunning site and I can’t wait to welcome everyone back.”

In July 2022, JW Lees announced it would invest £6m into 24 of its pubs. The company said it had been investing in its portfolio even during the height of Covid.

JW Lees was founded in 1828 by retired cotton manufacturer John Lees. Based in Middleton in the north-west of Manchester, the business owns JW Lees Brewery, JW Lees Pubs, JW Lees Inns & Hotels, The Alderley Edge Hotel, Stanneyland’s Hotel, Trearddur Bay Hotel and Willoughby’s Wine Merchants.

It employs more than 1,400 people, 140 at the brewery and site in Middleton Junction and over 1,200 in 44 managed pubs, inns and hotels, as well as letting a further 100 pubs to ‘Pub Partners’.