David Adamson chats to The Black Friar's Neil Burke about taking full ownership of the independent Salford pub
When The Black Friar pub in Salford was brought back to life in 2021 after fifteen years of sitting derelict, it found itself surrounded by modern apartment blocks.
Such is the change that Salford has undergone in the last twenty years, the city will have been a different place when The Black Friar shut its doors for what seemed the last time.
Since reopening following a refurbishment by developers Salboy and DOMIS, the pub has been managed by Neil Burke, who along with head chef Ben Chaplin (right in main image) has created what The Observer's Jay Rayner called back in 2021 "an ambitious pub that's evolving quickly".
Now Neil has assumed full ownership of the pub, buying out the interests of Salboy and DOMIS. So what does he hope to achieve with this historic pub in an area whose transformation is showing no signs of slowing down?
David Adamson sat down with Neil to talk all things The Black Friar.
DAVID (D): So Neil, tell me why you decided to take on full ownership of The Black Friar?
NEIL (N): When Salboy and DOMIS were looking for someone to come on board and run the pub I'd just come back from Australia running a multi group over there, so I said I'd do six months, set it up and get it going, then bow out. Then six months turned into 12 months and now I'm buying the place.
D: So you had no intention of owning the pub when you first started?
N: Definitely not.
D: So what's led you to decide to take it over?
N: It's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears, a lot of hard work. We've got an amazing team, we've built up a good clientele base and the pub's getting more popular.
I suppose it's been a dream of mine to own my own business for a long time and looking around at what I would have done at the time, as opposed to running this place, I've had my days of big group operations roles and openings and all that; those days are behind me now. I think I'm just happy running this place and making it the best it can be.
D: So it's more than just a pet project then, it's how you see your career going from here?
N: Absolutely yeah.
D: What are your plans for it then, in terms of things you'd like to do with The Black Friar in the next few years?
N: Number one, first and foremost, is our customers and building on that loyalty base. Then it's about continuing on down the wedding and events track; we've got quite a lot of weddings booked in and more to come this year. Next year is really a big wedding year for us, so that's great. Then outside of that we're going to be starting up a catering company, so we can do some off-site catering and catering to people's homes. Then added to that I really would love to do another pub. If we can just find the right investment, I'd love to do another pub or two.
D: So it's the base for some further ambitions but you're keeping it rooted to this one pub?
N: Absolutely. I've moved all around the world in different roles and I'm in my mid-forties now so it's quite nice to be in situ in the same place; come to work every day and spend time on it and build on it.
D: There's only, I would say, a handful of 'foodie' pubs in and around the city centre, for instance The Edinburgh Castle and the Marble Arch. Are you hoping to grow an established reputation like that as well?
N: I think we've already done it, haven't we? The Edinburgh Castle is great at what they do. We're a similar sort of ilk, and I do think they're one of the few alongside us who are independently owned and non-brewery attached. We're independently owned, with no ties to any brewery, and that's quite a rarity. Even with the pubs in the UK that you think are like that, behind the scenes they actually aren't.
D: So in terms of the area around the pub, it's all change in Blackfriars, have you got great hopes for that as well?
N: That will hopefully see the business go from strength to strength as the area grows with more people moving into this neck of the woods. I was told that Salford's the new Brooklyn by someone the other day. Maybe it'll take a few years to get there but it's certainly the 'second city' to New York and is heaving with more of an artisan crowd than Manhattan. So I suppose there are similarities with Salford. There's so many more independent places popping up all the time, and so many more people choosing to live here, where maybe ten or fifteen years ago that wouldn't have been the case.
Header image credit: The Black Friar Salford
