Dance the night away at new over 25s bar coming soon to Newbury
A new bar is joining Newbury’s town centre.
The stylish 90s-themed bar is coming soon to Newbury’s Wharf Street – aimed exclusively at those aged 25 and over.
Works to refurbish the new venue, called Reloaded, started in September at the site previously occupied by Document House, which closed its doors in November 2021.
The joint venture is being driven by Thatcham builder Mike Wall and his wife Sonja.
They say the new venue promises to host jazz nights, theme nights, visiting artists – including saxophonists and pianists – plenty of selfie spots and includes a kitchen to serve bottomless brunch parties.
Speaking about the idea for the project, Mr Wall, who oversaw the renovations himself, said: “The plan was to do something like this abroad, but due to family reasons, we thought let’s try to do something in our own town and see what happens over the next few years.”
And explaining why it is aimed at over 25s, he continued: “I like going out, but don’t like being with the youngsters.
“Obviously, we were all there once but there’s so many people in their 40s, 50s and 60s who still like to go out, but there’s nowhere for them to go.”
Mrs Wall added: “We wanted to do something different to what Newbury has because I think there’s a real gap in the market for somewhere like this.”
The ground floor has seating and table areas, a dance floor, a bar and a DJ booth.
Upstairs is a VIP lounge with another bar, which will be open to all to start with.
All the walls are adorned with unique hand-painted and spray-painted art by Newbury mural artist, Layla Blacker.
The main entrance and exit is sited on the side of the building closest to Market Place to minimise any disturbance to surrounding residents.
The venue was due to open for Christmas, but its unveiling has been delayed until February after plans on opening hours went before West Berkshire Council’s licensing committee, which met on Wednesday.
The dress code will be smart casual.
After Document House closed in 2021, the site reopened as Document House sports bar in March 2022, which shut in July 2022.
It remained empty until now.
