The ECHO spoke to the new owner of Ye Cracke after the historic pub reopened its doors
New owner of Ye Cracke in Liverpool city centre, Mike Girling
“It’s a constant labour of love,” says Mike Girling after telling the ECHO about work to bring one of Liverpool’s most famous pubs back to life. Mike, 54, is the new owner of Ye Cracke, a much-loved pub on Rice Street in Liverpool city centre.
The 54-year-old is also responsible for popular Italian-inspired L’Aperitivo and Tokyo-inspired venue Suono. Mike has also had The Dovedale Towers, affectionately known as The Dovey, since 2010 and The Lion Tavern since 2017. Now, he has Ye Cracke.
The historic pub has stood on Rice Street in the Georgian Quarter since the 19th century. Originally called The Ruthin Castle, Ye Cracke came to be in 1862, when the then landlord of the Ruthin Castle extended the premises by buying the cottage next door.
The pub is perhaps best known for being John Lennon’s favourite spot for a beer when he was an arts student. John’s drink of choice was a black velvet – made from Guinness and sparkling wine. It’s also where he took his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, on their first date after meeting her at a college dance.
Ye Cracke
Anyone who has visited the pub since it reopened at the end of August will immediately notice its restoration, bringing the pub back to its former glory. After taking ownership of the historic pub on July 1, the pub was taken “back to brick” and “rebuilt the same, but different”.
Mike told the ECHO: “One of the reasons I wanted to buy [the pub] was because it is such an important legacy to the city, this pub. What it means, not just for the city, but culturally, globally and its heritage. It’s a super old pub. It’s nearly 200-years-old originally. Obviously it’s got, in the last century with John Lennon, an incredible cultural legacy.
“I was conscious of the fact that it needed to stay as it was, it needs to mean the same thing, it needs to have the same cultural kind of importance. It can’t be changed to something else. It has to stay as it was but needed to be made better.
Ye Cracke reopened after a long-awaited refurbishment(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“If you’ve got the means, do good things. Do a good thing for the city, good thing for this place, and make sure it’s maintained for the next 50 years.”
The main room has been fitted with new panelling, its flooring refurbished, softer lighting added, and the former church pews replaced with deep red benches. Its famous artwork still hangs on the wall, but the Battle of Waterloo mural is now pride of place on the centre of the back wall.
The War Office has been reupholsted, and its the walls, which were covered in ply, have been stripped back to the original panelling. An authentic period mirror and three individual tables have been added to the room.
Ye Cracke
The bar has been tidied up and its overhead canopy raised. Punters will find a new selection of ales including ‘Dissenter’ – a tribute to the group of four art students John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe, Rod Murray, and Bill Harry – who met at the pub. The group were said to have created a pact to put Liverpool on the map through their different artistic pursuits.
The front bar, which is the original bar, was covered with ply board. This has been stripped back to uncover the former bar.
Customers will also find pies from Piesmiths, an award-winning Liverpool based pie maker, on sale. Mike said: “They’re amazing. They’re really, really good. They’re going down really well.”
The Stable at Ye Cracke, which is now additional seating
The outdoor area has been tidied up, with a variation of traditional pub tables and bistro-styled seating for smaller groups. A new addition to the pub is its former store room, which was once full of stuff. It’s now an additional seating area where groups can watch the match or the world go by from its open barn doors.
When asked about how the reaction has been to the pub’s makeover, Mike said: “Overwhelmingly positive. It’s been great, actually. A lot of people were worried that it was going to be changed into something. That was never what I was going to do.
“So everyone is made up really, to see it as it is. It’s like it was, but different.”