Exeter needs better late night venues.

Places where the drinks are good, the entertainment is good, where people can relax and have a good time. Too many places are aimed at efficiency drinking, getting as drunk as possible for as little money as possible. The places where you can go for a couple of nice, relaxing drinks with friends are few and far between. The scene is changing with some notable new businesses opening in the past few years and it feels like the city is changing and becoming more grown up, although most of these new businesses are aimed at the high end cocktail market and are nice for special occasions but can be a bit much for just unwinding with mates.

What the city needs is A Little Drop Of Poison. What I want to open in Exeter is a warm and welcoming pub in the city centre, serving good quality beers, wines, spirits, coffees, cocktails, and more, with live music and entertainment. The kind of place you'd find and then want to tell your friends about. The type of pub you can drop into in the afternoon and read your newspaper.

UPDATE: Sorry, I realise the description above is vague and a touch cryptic. Just needed to get my ducks in a line before I released more details. I also wanted to test the water as far as interest in new venues went.

For those of you who don' know me my name is James Hornblower. I am one of the founders of the Beer Cellar, Exeter's first specialist beer bar. We'e had an excellent first four years at the Beer Cellar and enjoyed watching the craft beer scene in Exeter grow and now I think it's time for a larger venue in the city to cater for craft beer. With the sad news of Exeter losing one of the best venues the city has had in the Bike Shed Theatre Bar (all the best to them in their new project the Boat Shed on the quay) Fore Street could do with a new night spot. I propose to take on the Mint pub, and to turn it into a new bar.

I would like to install 12-15 changing keg beer lines, in addition to 4 permanent keg lines (pale, dark, lager, cider), 4-6 cask ale lines, fridges for around 200 bottles (drink in or take away), and a selection of wines, spirits, and soft drinks. The larger space available in the Mint means we could accomodate special interest groups, such as home brew clubs and beer appreciation clubs and bottle shares. Over time I would like to establish the business as a performance venue, with live music, comedy events, and story telling nights.

I can only hope to achieve this with your support. If you'e ever thought there are a lack of decent pubs in Exeter or that there's no fun nightlife for you in the city this is your opporunity to help change that. Please support this project.