What a Journey we have had so far. Hi Spirits really hasnt been easy but totally worth it so far.
From a Traditional Horse Rice Box that was a shell, sitting on Lee’s parents drive for 3 years to Hi Spirits Bar what it is now.
At the beginning of setting up Hi Spirits , I ( Martina ) was working a job that i really wasnt happy in. Bored and feeling like my brain cells were being wasted away. Lee, predominantly working within the Home Improvements sector running his own successful ( albeit back breaking ) business.
Both Lee and myself have a plethora of managerial experience in the Bar, Pub and Club Trade and totally adore our Music. We also know a thing or 10 about alcohol and appreciate an excellent tasting beverage for our pallettes. Lee had a vision of exactly what he wanted the HorseBox to be and put his handy craftsman skills to use by building the Bar completely from scratch. What you see in the photos are the result of Lee working many early mornings whilst I was on the early ( almost graveyard ) shifts at work. Lee would then go to his regular daytime job in his customers home where he would be plastering, plumbing, fixing, installing and so on and from there he would return back to the unit to continue work on the Horsebox. Dedication was absolute key here.
Everything has been thought through with minute detail, from the plumbing top the decor. Being from such musical backgrounds, it really was a no brainer that Music would naturally be incorperated into the Bar.
Both Lee and myself DJ and really know our Music history. Motown, Reggae, House, Soul, Club Classics to Funk, between us both, there’s not much we dont know. It was a necessity ( to us ) to include a DJ option with our Bar ( lee also installed coulour changing lights in the Bar to make it more pleasing to the eye on those night time events).
Woodwork, building and general all round handy work with a great attention to detail are definately Lees strong point. Whilst he was busy with that, I tended to the administrational side which is my fortay ( although I sometimes wish it wasn’t). Applications, Licenses, Form after form after form, paperwork, handbooks and so on and so on and so on, jumping through hurdles like you wouldnt believe and sometimes wanting to give up and forget it all, doing everything to make our Bar legal, safe and within keeping to government guidelines ( they really dont make it easy for you ).
The finished product has made all the stress, worry and totally knackering times completely worth it. So many great compliments on the Bars aesthetics, the tastyness of the cocktails and the wide selection of drinks. We fit a lot into our small bar !
Thus far, we are having some brilliant experiences with HS and have met some fantastic people along our journey. Amazing support from friends, Family and other people from within the industry we work in. We have certainly learned along the way and still continue to learn.
We finally have our 5 star Hygiene rating which really takes some weight off our shoulders and makes us proud. The journey is just beginning but we have a feeling its going to be a good one.
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