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<\/p>\nThe craft beer venue has now been open for nearly five years<\/p>\n
Evelina Black<\/strong><\/p>\n 11:57, 09 May 2026<\/p>\n Jonathan Smallwood is the landlord of North Park Tavern(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n A man from Walton had never worked behind a bar in his life when he decided to open his own bar. Jonathan Smallwood, 43, previously worked as a solicitor before following his passion for beer.<\/p>\n Wanting to return to full-time work after doing consultancy work part-time, he decided to open a craft beer bar called the North Park Tavern on Stanley Road in Bootle in 2021, despite having no experience in the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n The ECHO spoke to Jonathan about what it\u2019s been like to run the pub for nearly five years, the community he\u2019s built and his future plans for the North Park Tavern.<\/p>\n How did you get into the pub industry?<\/p>\n Before opening this bar, I had no experience whatsoever of working in the hospitality industry at all but it was just something I always wanted to do because I love pubs and pub culture. It started as a hobby because I\u2019m a big beer enthusiast and I love all the different types of beer so I just thought I\u2019d open my own little micro bar.<\/p>\n Apart from the fact a lot of people who work in the legal profession like to drink, there is no real crossover between law and beer so it\u2019s been a lot of learning on the job. The best expression to use would probably be winging it but it\u2019s going to be five years since we opened in September so I think we\u2019re doing alright.<\/p>\n Has there been any big changes in those five years?<\/p>\n It\u2019s much harder for people running pubs at the moment and you see the headlines of pubs closing all the time. Energy prices and the wholesale cost of beer and spirits have gone up massively so it\u2019s much tougher to run the pub now, which I think is the most noticeable thing.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s affected the enjoyment because it\u2019s still the same job, day in, day, out. It\u2019s just that the margins are a bit tighter now.<\/p>\n What is your favourite thing about the job?<\/p>\n Very often it\u2019s not really a job. I think anyone who has done bar work probably gets this but sometimes you\u2019ve got a really good group of customers and you\u2019re sat talking and you have the realisation that you\u2019re getting paid to socialise. That is by far the best part of the job because when you\u2019ve got a good crowd in and the banter is going it doesn\u2019t feel like you\u2019re at work at all.<\/p>\n Jonathan wanted bring a new type of venue to Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n Why did you choose to open the pub in Bootle?<\/p>\n I was trying to look for somewhere that wasn\u2019t already saturated with craft beer bars so Bootle stood out and it also feels like a mini town centre away from the city centre. Stanley Road isn\u2019t just an ordinary high street so you get a good mix of people that are going to be in the area.<\/p>\n What is it about your local community that you love?<\/p>\n Most of the people who are regulars live within about 100 metres of the bar and I\u2019ve gotten really close to a lot of them. There\u2019s a really good community spirit around here and I\u2019ve made a lot of good friends because we\u2019re a very laid back, community pub and the people that come in are great.<\/p>\n What makes you different from other pubs?<\/p>\n If you come in here you\u2019re not going to see any Carling or Heineken or any of the big brands. We cater to craft and specialist beers and we make sure we support all local businesses so we always have a beer from a local brewery. We’re completely different to all the pubs in this area so if you want a pub that\u2019s really laid back with a massive variety of beers that isn\u2019t the bog-standard sports bar then this is your place to go.<\/p>\n What is your favourite beer you currently sell?<\/p>\n That’s a tough one because there’s so many but we’ve actually just started getting an Austrian Alpine Lager in, which is really nice. I’m normally a pale ale man, but that’s hitting the spot at the moment. It’s called Stiegl-Goldbr\u00e4u and it’s absolutely gorgeous.<\/p>\n The North Park Tavern will celebrate its five year anniversary in September (Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n Have you got any plans for the future?<\/p>\n I think to just carry on as we are because for me it\u2019s been a success to get it up and running. We\u2019ve got a great set of regulars who I\u2019ve got to know really well and it\u2019s become a little community pub so I\u2019d like to continue as we are and just enjoy the fact that we\u2019ve been here for five years.<\/p>\n Is there anything you would have done differently if you could?<\/p>\n Hindsight is a wonderful thing and there\u2019s probably a few mundane things I would have done differently like the d\u00e9cor and the way things are laid out but I don\u2019t think I would have done much differently.<\/p>\n I\u2019m quite happy with what I\u2019ve done so far because opening the bar was a big risk but it was a risk I was willing to take and I\u2019ve got absolutely no regrets whatsoever.<\/p>\n How are you going to celebrate the five year anniversary?<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to throw a big, big party in the pub and get very, very drunk.<\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_North-Park-Tavern.jpg\")
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