The iconic Bold Street venue joins the independent hospitality operator this week
Liverpool institution, Café Tabac, which has stood on Bold Street for over half a century, is set to start a new chapter this December as it joins the Ma Pub Group brand.
The independent Liverpool hospitality operator behind Liverpool favourites Ma Boyle’s Alehouse and Eatery, Tempest on Tithebarn, Nova Scotia and Newington Temple has acquired the landmark venue with the transition officially taking place on Wednesday 3 December.
Opened in the seventies by Rita Lawrence and run as a fiercely independent family business, Café Tabac quickly distinguished itself as a home for Liverpool’s creative vanguard. Through the 1980s it became a bohemian refuge for the city’s post-punk, new wave and alternative scenes, welcoming a generation of artists, musicians, writers and performers including Holly Johnson, Pete Burns, Margi Clarke, Ian McCulloch, Jayne Casey and poet Gerry Potter.
This new chapter carries personal significance for Baa Bar Limited CEO Elaine Clarke. Ma Pub Group director Iain Hoskins began his hospitality career working with Elaine across the venues in the mid-1990s and now, three decades later, the stewardship returns to a former protégé.
All staff will be retained with the transition and Tabac will continue to trade with the same name, values and character it’s known and loved for.
Elaine Clarke, Baa Bar Limited CEO, says: “Café Tabac was opened by my Auntie Rita and Paddy Byrne of the Everyman — who sadly passed away only weeks ago — and from the very beginning it carried the spirit of the Everyman’s bold, creative energy. That sense of independence has lived in its walls for more than fifty years and has shaped everything it has become. My own working life has been tied to Tabac for 33 years. I started in hospitality in Café Tabac at 14, and this place has been part of every chapter since — a constant I have cared about deeply and worked hard to keep true to its bohemian roots through all the changes Liverpool has seen. Taking it on in 2001 was one of the proudest moments of my career. I wanted to honour what Rita created: a home for artists, musicians, performers, night owls, early risers, and everyone who found a piece of themselves in its red glow.
“Letting go now comes with a heavy heart. It truly marks the end of an era for me and for my family. Tabac has always felt like another relative — one I have protected fiercely — and saying goodbye is deeply personal. But I also know that every great institution evolves, and this is the right moment for its next chapter. Iain has understood Tabac and knows its history, its quirks, its place in the city, and the emotional pull it has for people who have walked through its doors since the eighties and still come today. Ma Pub Group has built a strong reputation for looking after their venues and their teams, and I know Iain will protect this place with the same heart, integrity and pride that have sustained it for half a century.”
Iain Hoskins, Ma Pub Group Director, says: “Being entrusted with Café Tabac is an honour. It has been at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural landscape for decades and holds a huge place in the city’s memory. Like so many others, I have my own stories tied to this place. Tabac is one of the last living reminders of a Liverpool that shaped generations of creativity and character. To become its next custodian is a privilege I do not take lightly. My commitment is simple: it will remain the Tabac Liverpool knows and loves. Elaine has protected its authenticity for more than 20 years, and Rita did the same for decades before that. We are proud to continue that legacy and carry this iconic venue into its next era.”
Elaine concludes: “Most of all, I want to thank everyone who has been part of Tabac’s story. Our teams past and present, who have poured their energy, creativity and graft into keeping it alive. And our customers — loyal regulars from the eighties, the generations who followed, the new faces who discover us every week. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for keeping Tabac open, relevant and filled with life. You are the reason it has endured. You are the reason it became an institution. Passing it on to someone who understands that — who feels the weight and the warmth of its legacy — is why this decision feels right, even through the sadness. I know Iain will take good care of it, and I’m grateful that the next chapter of Café Tabac will be written by someone who truly loves it.”
Ma Pub Group’s ownership of Café Tabac begins officially on Wednesday 3 December, ready for the festive season.
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