![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CP_07jpeg.jpg\")
Tom Mills, who was born and raised in Oldham, has opened his own sports bar in New York(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n‘It\u2019s one of the greatest cities in the world – I love it’Tom Mills, who was born and raised in Oldham, has opened his own sports bar in New York(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n
A man from Greater Manchester has opened a new bar<\/a> more than 3,346 miles away that pays homage to his hometown.<\/p>\n Tom Mills, who was born and raised in Oldham<\/a>, moved to America after being invited to take part in a lucrative football scholarship. Having played for Oldham Athletic FC’s youth team as a schoolboy, he was released and made the move to Pennsylvania at the age of 17.<\/p>\n Having stayed in the United States<\/a> after the scholarship and his football career came to an end, Tom has since earned a Master\u2019s Degree in Business. Having spent some time in California, he relocated to New York about nine years ago and hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve actually been in America for more than half of my life now,\u201d Tom, 33, tells the Manchester Evening News<\/a>. \u201cI come home two or three times a year, but I just love it here and I\u2019ve stayed here ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay connected with our City Life newsletter here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Last month, Tom opened his very own venue, Central Park Tavern, in Manhattan, in an ideal spot overlooking the very same iconic and historic 843-acre park it’s named after. Inspired by New York\u2019s ‘golden age of taverns’, the Hell\u2019s Kitchen sports bar, on 327 West 57th Street, will also feature many references to Tom\u2019s hometown.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a Manchester-themed bar per se,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut there are certainly some subtle nods throughout the place. There\u2019s a cocktail called A Charming Man, there\u2019s a signed Anthony Crolla glove, and some signed Manchester United shirts on the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the decoration, there\u2019s the bee logo, as well as the Industrial Revolution and the textile industry. But it\u2019s not a tacky bar – we\u2019ve managed to find the line where it\u2019s not cheesy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an elevated sports bar, so you can go to watch live games, order chicken wings and drink a cold beer. We do things like a Guinness and Oyster Happy Hour, but there\u2019s also an unbelievable cocktail menu too.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be screening all the NFL, NBA, and Major League baseball games. We\u2019re also going to do Premier League mornings and there will definitely also be the Manchester United games.\u201d He jokingly adds: \u201cWe\u2019ll screen the City games too, but we\u2019ll probably show those in the back!\u201d<\/p>\n The venue even sells cans of Manchester\u2019s own Boddington\u2019s for authenticity purposes. “It costs us a fortune to import the stuff and we don\u2019t make any money on it,\u201d Tom laughs, \u201cBut I like having it, it\u2019s like having a little part of home right here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom said his time of working in pubs and bars as a teenager in his hometown of Chadderton<\/a> have helped him to be able to understand how to operate a venue and what customers should expect.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was younger, I was working in pubs all over Manchester,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve washed dishes at The Rose Of Lancaster and The Church Inn on Chadderton Fold.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d always been working in pubs and stuff, and really enjoyed it, and it never really felt like work. With a business degree, it felt like my natural progression was just to put the two together again really.\u201d<\/p>\n A former pupil at North Chadderton School Tom said he first visited New York as part of a school trip, but had never imagined he would find himself living there until visiting years later. \u201cI just knew that this was the place for me,\u201d he says of his new home. \u201cIt\u2019s got the energy, it\u2019s so alive. It\u2019s one of the greatest cities in the world. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom says that despite being so far away from home, he is still reminded of the impact Manchester has had on culture, music, and other things around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to me how much influence Manchester sort of has everywhere,\u201d he explains. \u201cI play The Smiths and The Stone Roses in the bar and everyone always really loves it. It\u2019s wild how much of a widespread influence it has.\u201d<\/p>\n Central Park Tavern is part of the Pmacs hospitality group, who also look after proclaimed New York venues like Vida Verde, Tanner Smith’s and The Mean Fiddler. Tom says it means he has the backing to do things that can help it stand out.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York has over 10,000 liquor licences so there are a lot of places serving alcohol,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe\u2019re not without options. What makes us different is the uniqueness of the people who own it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s me, with the nods to Northern hospitality, and my business partner Kim is from the Bronx. She knows what the locals want, and how to be authentic. It\u2019s a really good combination.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s also not many northerners out here in New York that are running bars, so I like to think that\u2019s quite unique in itself too. But, that being said, I\u2019ve bumped into a few people from Rochdale<\/a> and Salford<\/a> in New York since opening, so we certainly get about!\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he has already noticed any differences in bar culture between the UK and the USA, Tom said there are a few examples of things he\u2019s seen.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a big focus here on having a social or work happy hour,\u201d he explains. \u201cOver here, people will literally go out every day for a corporate happy hour all on the company dime and it\u2019s almost mandatory in some places. New York has its own micro-climate, it\u2019s not bad if you can get it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s also a big non-alcoholic scene emerging here. Mocktails are a really big thing, it\u2019s actually quite mental.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what it\u2019s like to be living in the States during what is perhaps best described as a tense and unpredictable era for the country, Tom says he understands the role his bar can play in the local neighbourhood right now.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is quite a mad place to be and it can be very polarising at times but I also think that\u2019s where a bar like this can come into play,\u201d he believes. \u201cThere\u2019s often an unwritten rule that there\u2019s no politics in a bar. It\u2019s time for people to cut off from the outside world, and come together.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York is such a melting pot and I hope that I can create something here where people can feel safe and comfortable and not let different opinions on things divide us all.\u201d<\/p>\n With the first few weeks of Central Park Tavern so far proving to be a hit, Tom says he is \u2018super proud\u2019 of what he\u2019s achieved – even if the story is a little mad.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe I get to say I own a bar on 57th Street,\u201d he laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s actually called Billionaire\u2019s Row here – that\u2019s how it\u2019s known. I\u2019m obviously nowhere near a billionaire, but I think it\u2019s quite ironic that a lad from Chadderton has opened a business there. It\u2019s really amusing to me!\u201d<\/p>\n You can follow Central Park Tavern on Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n Join our Manc Life WhatsApp group HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CPjpeg.jpg\")
The ‘elevated’ sports bar is situated within New York’s Billionaire Row(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n![\"As](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CP_03jpeg.jpg\")
As well as cocktails named after famous The Smiths songs, there is also United memorabilia on the walls(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CP_06jpeg.jpg\")
Tom says he loves the uniqueness of the New York bar(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CP_04jpeg.jpg\")
The sophisticated venue screens he latest sports games, including matches from Manchester United and Manchester City(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n![\"'There\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_021025_CP_02jpeg.jpg\")
‘There\u2019s often an unwritten rule that there\u2019s no politics in a bar. It\u2019s time for people to cut off from the outside world, and come together'(Image: Central Park Tavern)<\/p>\n