The well-known music shop would be shut down early 2019, and if the plans lodged with Chester Council and Chester West’s planning committee are executed well, it would be converted into a Parisian-style-deli called Picnic.
Back Alley Music has been a Northgate Street mainstay for close to three decades. It is not just any musical community centre that sells a range of musical instruments. It, in fact, has an exhaustive collection of talents from the maritime and local music scene. Not to mention, the store also provides guitar repairing service.
The store is particularly known for its B-stock guitars. In fact, there is no type of guitar that Back Alley Music doesn’t sell. Seeing the shop make way for a Parisian-style-deli would, therefore, not just be unfortunate but also string the nostalgic chords of people who grew up with the place and have memories attached to it. All those people who relied on the store for their musical instrument requirements would now have to look elsewhere.
Matthew Morgan, the individual who applied for the store rehaul, is planning to open a restaurant cum café that would be open to visitors day and night, thereby offering customers a mature and informal dining experience. The store would be open to visitors from 7 am to 11 pm or 10:30 pm. It would serve a bespoke, small menu comprising vegan and vegetarian options that would heavily focus on well-being and health.
Picnic would offer the delicatessen environment, but with a modern twist. As per the application, the design would be on the lines of a Parisian bistro. A disabled-friendly additional toilet and kitchen area would be part of the mix, and the store would be completely modernised and redecorated to improve the quality options Northgate Street has to offer.
Picnic will also feature a modest selection of select and organic wines, craft beers and spirits that would strongly feature British and local products and suppliers. The small alcohol selection would let people benefit from a mature and refined evening atmosphere whilst enjoying a platter of cheeses, meat and accompaniments. To permit this, a table license would be sought from the authorities in Chester.
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