Yesterday I had a strange sense of deja vu. I was being looked at through a pub window and I thought to myself, that's happened to me before this month. It was in a micropub then and I'm in another one now.! More later.
So the micropub I was in yesterday is Sunderland's first. Called The Lighthouse, its located in a former coffee shop called Bojangles. Maxim Brewery employee Sean has finally fulfilled a dream and opened this pub in Sea Road Fulwell. Its located near a busy crossroads junction next to a DIY store and amongst small shops, fast food outlets and a national North East bakery chain that sells amongst other things, vegan sausage rolls..
This opening is the culmination of nearly a year of planning, bureaucracy and red tape endured by both Sean and Maxim Brewery, for whom he will continue to work as a delivery driver for now ( Busy lad !)
I met with a few fellow CAMRA members yesterday for a first experience. It was a typical dull overcast shortest day of the year. It took me two buses and ninety minutes to get there. Several buses stop nearby from Sunderland and South Shields. When they not on strike, there is Metro station about ten minutes walk away. One of the guys I was with said , on finding out about my journey, that he lived two minutes walk away ; I really could have done without that snippet of information!
So, whats the pub like? Well it has retained some of the features of the cafe, including some furniture , the slate tiled floor and the white tiled right hand wall as you walk in. What is new is the bar itself.
There are three handpulls and three keg fonts.On day one there was three Maxim real ales Double Maxim, Hapi Christmas and Winter Tipple. The former will feature all of the time, alongside a Maxim monthly special and a local guest. As the brewery release a special, they are snapped up and sell out pretty quickly. So I reckon this is place to go to find one. I'm thinking ahead to the spring of 2020 when Sour Cherry & Chocolate Stout makes it's debut. This will be one place to find it.
The keg beer was Lighthouse craft, Samson Smooth and Scorpion Lager.There is a bottle/can fridge and a range of spirits and soft drinks.
The pub has a small outdoor drinking area at the back which looks like it will be a suntrap in the summer.
As you can see from the photo of the front of the pub above , it mostly comprises of a large glass window. I was standing facing this and noticed mostly shoppers walking past. Every so often someone would stop and peer inside through the steamed up window. Some almost walked past then screeched to a halt, then did a double take. I could almost read their minds " that's been closed for ages, it's open !"
Observing this reminded me of another such new venture I was in one at the beginning of December in Framwellgate Moor, Durham City :- The Fram Ferment Bottle Shop and Taproom. This was a former NHS clinic and again, people were stopping, having a look through the window and having a nosey, then either staying or moving on. Deja vu you see.
One more thing about the decor, he has really gone to town on the Xmas decorations. To the left is it !
So , a great new addition to the drinking scene in Sunderland. Despite there being no cellar the beer is well kept and at the right temperature, And at £2.80 a pint for cask ale, good value. I would recommend a visit.
See Whatpub for pub details and a map. Whatpub Lighthouse.
