A long-established Darlington pub undergoing a refurbishment is due to reopen as an Irish bar.
The pub - formerly Hole in the Wall, on Horsemarket - closed for refurbishment four weeks ago, with many punters wondering what the future held.
It has now been revealed that it will officially be reopening as O'Carroll's Irish Tavern on Saturday (July 26).
The refurbishment has been "in the background for quite a long time" as the pub has long been known primarily for its food offering, which is something the team felt needed to change.
The owners, Matthew Dunnett, 37, and Ory Vanes, 33, began working together when they collaboratively opened Hole in the Wall on March 29 last year, taking over from the previous owners.
Ory said: "We were back and forth with what to turn it into for a long time. There's a lot of food vendors in Darlington, but we were always stuck on the concept of an Irish bar and we kept circling back to that."
During the refurbishment, the team has changed the layout of mainly the building's interior, with some signage changes to the front.
They have introduced new front and back bars, a stage, new branding, flooring, and paintwork.
The downstairs bar area will also double as a live music venue. The stage has been built and TVs have been installed upstairs so that customers can watch performances from anywhere in the building.
Matthew said: "Irish bars are a very big up and coming thing and they are based around live music and entertainment, which is my background.
"The Red Lion is a karaoke bar, but here will be a place for people that can sing to sing, which will be different."
The venue plans to host an array of artists, including acoustic bands, fiddlers, and everything in between.
Ory said: "It's pivoting from a food-led business to a wet-led and live entertainment business. The whole identity of the building itself has changed."
On Saturday's opening day, the venue is welcoming local artists including And Then Some, Thomas Bowman, and Mark Hammie Hammonds.
Ory said: "We're trying to achieve something where we want people to play here, not just because it's a gig but because of the atmosphere and the style of the place. We want people to come because they want to come."
The bar is planning to live-stream their sets in the future, hoping to gain traction online.
Ory said: "Social media right now is the driving force behind everything and that's never going to stop by the looks of things, so we'd be stupid not to try it because the infrastructure is there."
The pub was previously a food outlet for the town. However the pair have decided to lessen the meals and offer 'pub food' instead, shifting the focus onto the drinks and music.
Matthew said: "The pub has always benefitted from the summer, but in the winter it never has, and you need something that will benefit all year round.
"The previous tenants always had it as food-led and it's been great for eating outside in summer, but in winter it's not big enough for functions so we've changed it so it'll be effective all year."
They have embodied this theme during the renovation, collecting 'Alice in Wonderland' instruments, photographs, records, and even a 3D-printed 'Mad Hatter' for decorations throughout the property.
The venue will also include a new pool table and dart board.
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Matthew said: "Gone are the days where you could open a pub door and people would just walk in. Now you need to bring something and people need a reason to visit the pub.
"As a trade, hospitality is losing its mark and the only way to keep it going is to keep putting on things that make people want to come out."
The bar be open from 4pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from 12pm Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
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