Upton Road Social to continue legacy of much-loved former venue in Birkenhead

Coopers Townhouse in Liverpool’s city centre, The Book Bar & Eatery in West Derby, John Street Social in Droylsden and now Upton Road Social in Birkenhead all have one key element in common – their profound sense of community built over the decades. This is what has brought Jonathan Yates to invest in his fourth venture, Upton Road Social, taking over the storied destination in Birkenhead.

Jonathan explains:

“It was originally known in the 1970s and 80s as Eric’s Club and Blythe Hall. The premises was then taken over by the Houlihan family in April 1988 and then it was just the upstairs of the building, operating as a traditional variety club with weekend entertainment. In the mid 90s, the club expanded to take over the shop units underneath, including a pet shop, butchers and engineers, combining them all into a lounge bar.

Since then, Houlies as it became known, has been a fixture in Claughton Village providing a warm, safe welcome across generations for the community. As with all of our venues, and especially Coopers and John Street Social, our focus is to maintain the existing traditions, community and service, whilst improving and augmenting where we can. And also crucially, to make sure these places are vibrant and fun for all.

So for the many locals who love Houlies, the Upton Road Social is very much a continuation of what they already know and frequent.”

The grand room upstairs is a magnificent concert room that will need investment to restore it back to its original grandeur and longer term that is the intention. The immediate objective for Jonathan is to make the transition from the Houlihan family as seamless as possible, which means all of the staff are being retained and there will be the same drinks and prices, then from there Jonanthan will look for opportunities to improve the facilities.

Since the pandemic, the business has operated solely from the downstairs, seven days a week, 365 days a year as a member’s bar, with a wide selection of competitively priced drinks, sports on TV, an incredible jukebox and with numerous pool and darts teams making the venue their base. The Club operates a members’ scheme at just £5 per year and renewals will be opened up shortly.

Jonathan adds:

“With the lease expiring, the Houlihan family made the decision to hand over the reigns to me which is a huge honour. We know how important it is what they have created here over the years and for myself and my team we promise to continue the reputation for the wonderful community here and make improvements where possible, in the same way we have at Coopers and John Street Social. The family requested that the name retire with them, so I’ve renamed it the Upton Road Social based on its location and reflecting that, right now, it’s more of a social destination rather than a variety club. When we get to the point of re-opening the upstairs, I’m certain there will be lots of variety club type of programming up there.”