Plans unveiled for 'cosy' Chester city centre bookshop and wine bar
The venue would cater for up to 30 customers and host regular ticketed events
Watergate Street in Chester(Image: Pete Stonier / CheshireLive)
Plans for a new "combined" bookshop and wine bar in Chester city centre have been unveiled. Chapters is "coming soon" to a vacant Watergate Row South unit, providing "a café-style environment" for up to 30 customers.
The "calm" venue will also host regular ticketed events such as author talks and workshops. A premises licence application has been submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council by Chapters Book Bar Ltd.
Its website states: "Chapters bookshop and wine bar is coming soon, and we can’t wait to welcome you. At Chapters, you’ll find a cosy corner to hide away in with your favourite book and a glass of wine, a space to share stories with your friends old and new, and stacks of handpicked books waiting for you to discover your next favourite story."
The premises licence application states: "Chapters is a combined bookshop and wine/coffee bar, operating primarily as a bookshop with a secondary, ancillary wine and coffee bar offering. The premises occupies a single-storey, 1,138 sq ft retail unit on the Row level of Watergate Row South in Chester city centre.
"Internally, the sales layout is open-plan, featuring fixed book shelving, customer seating and a fixed bar counter serving a limited selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks alongside bar snacks. The space is designed for browsing, reading and relaxed socialising, with a normal seated capacity of approximately 25-30 customers.
"The premises includes an accessible toilet, storage room and staff room/kitchenette, with emergency egress provided via a rear fire door leading to a private courtyard and onward to Commonhall Street or the Rows. Externally, directly adjacent to the main shop area and separated by the public walkway of the Rows, there is an area approximately five metres wide within the Row’s covered section.
"This space, enclosed by the existing balustrade, will provide seating for customers and will be used solely for on-premises consumption. Chapters will also host regular, scheduled, ticketed events such as author talks, readings and workshops, typically for between 25-50 attendees.
"Alcohol sales will focus on quality wines served by the glass or bottle for on-site consumption, with a small selection of other alcoholic beverages, such as premium canned beers and ciders. A limited range of sealed wine bottles will also be available for off-site enjoyment, intended primarily for gifting or retail purposes complementary to the bookshop offering.
"Chapters will operate as a calm bookshop and wine bar in a café-style environment, with a strong emphasis on literature and community. The premises will not operate as a vertical-drinking establishment and will not feature amplified music; only low-level background music will be played to create ambience."
Visit the Chapters website here.