LONDON

PROHIBITION

VENUES, FEBRUARY 2007, COMMENTS

Ultimate Leisure’s strategy of national expansion reached an important milestone in December when the company opened its first ever unit in London.

Appropriately, it was the super stylish Prohibition bar brand that played the pioneering role – making central London the fifth location to feel the honed charms of this popular product after taking Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham bar circuits by storm.

Prohibition Bishopsgate opened after an eight-week fit out that cost in excess of £1.5 million. Harrison Design led the project, returning to develop the interior design template they have safeguarded and developed since creating the brand’s look in 2003.

Like its predecessors, Prohibition features fast and efficient service, an extensive menu and over 100 cocktails set in a trademark, speakeasy-style environment. It’s located behind a striking Georgian facade in a partially listed building spread over two floors and, for the first time, is designed to encourage daytime as well as nighttime custom, with lighter colours complementing the hallmark dark rich finishes, atmospheric lighting and flamboyant touches. The building’s striking listed character adds another new dimension to the brand.

Throughout the bar, previously characteristic black hues have made way for dark walnut and oak - which are consistent with Prohibition’s indulgent and opulent feel, but lend themselves more to round-the-clock trade and allow Ultimate to make the most of both business and leisure customer demand in this heart-of-the City location.As in the other sites, the venue’s space is broken down into individual zones, creating an intimate ‘party within a party’ experience for customers. Modular seating that caters for individuals or large groups, as well as tables which can be removed to reveal a dancefloor, contributes yet more flexibility.

The bars on both floors are visually strong with high profile spirit presentations and the use of opulent, sumptuous materials in their construction, reinforcing the brand identity - one that’s already caught the imagination of the venue’s target customers. These people, the city workers who populate the offices surrounding the venue, are already making the bar a thriving place to be during the week - although like the other licensed venues in the area it’s a different story at weekends, when they all close. With the office buildings that surround the venues closed for business from Friday to Monday morning and the people who populate them long gone, it’s a strange fact for operators in this particular part of central London that everyone else’s busiest night of the week is their cue to take a night off.

That’s not to say, however, that the bar doesn’t get its fair share of action - and from Wednesday to Friday Prohibition’s 3am licence is often put to good use. Over the course of these long trading sessions, which stretch from 11am into the night, lighting is used strategically to transform the mood of the bar from daytime relaxation to an intimate club atmosphere at night.

That transition is reinforced by the other technology deployed in the venue, too.

Prohibition’s sound and light systems have been designed by 1media’s Les Farmer and installed by Nottingham-based EXL. Like the design, they’re built with flexibility in mind.

“This being the next generation of the Prohibition brand we wanted to up the game on the sound quality and flexibility, and to include visuals and ambient effects lighting along with a virtually invisible live DJ area,” explains Les. Allen&Heath and Pioneer DJ equipment is hidden behind removable panels during the day, with speakers discretely positioned around the ceiling.

“The audio needed to play equally well at high and low levels; with good quality sound to match the quality of the surroundings and the overall Prohibition offer. The decision to go with Logic Systems IS10s and IS8s was the right choice for the venue, as they sound great at low level and thanks to the use of the latest Logic DSP controller they turn in to little beasts at the weekend.”

For lighting, Les specified six small EXL250 scans to create washes of animation and colour, rather than to create a full on club feel. Four high def Panasonic plasmas, with bespoke content created by 1media, are another new addition for the brand.

These features are perfect for live entertainment which, combine with the drinks and food offer (the latter ranging from the expected burgers and sandwiches to the more adventurous ‘Black Rock Grill’ steaks served at the table on hot volcanic rocks) make for a very well rounded operation.

Ultimately, Prohibition London is an affirmation of both the portability and viability brand’s unique combination of strengths - in this case adapted to an unusual location - which continue to distinguish it from much of the high street. As the brand continues to be rolled out into major towns and cities (next in the pipeline is Bristol) this must give considerable confidence to its operators, who must only see it going from strength to strength.

Words: Alex Eyre

Image: Jim Ellam

From: February 2007 Issue

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