A Morpeth business group is hopeful that the opening of a new bar and the re-opening of a restaurant in the town centre will be the start of a positive summer for the town’s hospitality sector.

Paddy’s Irish Bar is opening its doors today (Thursday) in time for the start of the 2026 World Cup finals, with match screenings and regular live music.

It is a collaborative project between Gareth Rose, Alex Swinney and Kelsein Wealleans who also own The Pressed Club and Pavilion Tipi in Morpeth, as well as The Needles Eye in Newbiggin and the up-coming Oat and Olive in Alnwick.

The opening follows renovations of the bottom floor of the property on Bridge Street, which have been on-going since April, and the owners say there is potential to expand to the upper levels if there is the demand.

Alex Swinney, left, and Gareth Rose at Paddy's Bar in Morpeth.

placeholder image — Alex Swinney, left, and Gareth Rose at Paddy's Bar in Morpeth.

Also on Bridge Street, Niko’s Greek Taberna had been closed since December – but it opened up again at the end of May and it is now called Niko’s Mediterranean Taberna.

Morpeth Chamber of Trade chairman Ken Stait welcomed the news and hopes there is more to come, but he did acknowledge the challenges facing the sector across the country.

He said: “This shows that Morpeth is an attractive place to invest in, with people willing to take on businesses and, in the case of Paddy’s Irish Bar, reimagine the interior of buildings in the town centre.

“Hospitality is an important part of the town’s commerce and hopefully there will be more good news to come for this sector. Retail and hospitality link together as a circular economy and so positive developments in one sector will go on to benefit the other.

Ken Stait pictured at the Whalton Show in 2017 (he judged the photographic classes that year). Picture by Jane Coltman.

“However, there are challenges for hospitality across the country that obviously apply to Morpeth. For example, employment costs have increased and it’s more difficult for these businesses to employ young people, which for many of them will be their first job to gain valuable skills even if they then want to move on to a different sector.”

As well as the opening night fun at Paddy’s, musician Sonny Doyle is coming over from Ireland to perform at the bar tomorrow (Friday) from around 9.15pm.