The Bus Yard is reopening on Crosby beach - here's what's new for 2024

The Bus Yard is getting ready to reopen on Crosby beach, and it’s got some new additions for summer 2024.

The converted double decker, at the Marina, has become a huge destination for street food, drinks and live music since it was launched by partners Antony Smith, Darren Ryder and Andy Laird.

Started as a lockdown project, it’s grown each year since then and has just won the three owners and their team the Hidden Gem award at the LCR Tourism Awards.

Now, after a winter of restoration after a full-on summer season, the bus is ready to welcome customers again from Easter weekend.

It will reopen on Good Friday, March 29, with a new look menu, a bigger bar, seaside treats for kids and a special ‘a la bark’ menu for dogs!

Antony explains:

“We have two buses, the one at Crosby and one we use for events, plus the Bedford truck that’s on Chavasse Park, and they all go into storage for the winter so they can have work done on them.

“Being by the beach especially has its own challenges – we painted everything last year to get the Crosby bus looking great and then straight away it got sandblasted and that took the shine off. That’s spent the past few months being sanded back, resprayed and painted and we’ve been busy painting all of the planters, tidying up the site, and putting fences in.

“We’re also making new sheds with seating booths to give customers a bit more shelter.”

Antony says the number of customers took them by surprise last year, so they’re prepared and getting equipped to try and get everyone served as quickly as possible.

“We just hadn’t expected it to be as popular as it was, and we didn’t really have time to react because obviously anything you build takes time, so we wanted to combat the queues this year. We’ll have an extra food unit that’s going on, and we’re also going to put a bigger bar in.

“We’re going to change around the menu, still keeping family favourites, but putting a few quirky bits on like Philly steak baguettes, sticky rice dishes, and bang bang chicken which I think is going to be a hit, as well as a lot of specials.

“And we’ve invested in a chicken rotisserie because one of the things that our customers loved was the Greek flatbreads, obviously they go hand-in-hand with being on the beach, so we’re ready to do a lot more of those.”

Being a prime spot for dog walking means the team has also upped its dog-friendly game.

“So many people come down to get a drink and a bite to eat when they’re walking their dogs and we felt we didn’t do enough for them before so we’re going to be doing an ‘a la bark’ menu with things like waggy beef stew and have a little treats counter for the dogs.”

Live music will be coming back through the week from around 5.30pm so it’s perfect for the after-work crowd, and throughout the day at weekends and on Bank Holidays.

The Bus Yard opens from 11am for drinks and 12noon for food, seven days a week, whatever the weather – there’s sheltered seating for at least 50-60. Food service stops at 8pm, but they’re happy for customers to sit and finish their drinks while they watch the sunset.

The concept has proved such an attraction that the team is already planning a second seaside location for another bus next year. And it’s even played a part in couples’ big days, as an informal wedding reception venue.

“We have a lot of repeat customers who are local, as well as tourists coming in from all over to see the Iron Men, and we’ve had so many people asking about weddings,” says Antony.

“We did manage to accommodate a few last year or had either met at the Bus Yard, or it’s their favourite place, so that’s why they wanted to have their wedding with us. They got married then brought all their family and friends down here afterwards which was great.

“We’re just really pleased to have had a big impact on customers. The year before last was really really good so we thought hopefully we’d have another good one and then last year was unbelievable, so now we’re excited for this summer.”