New ‘restropub’ to open in former Electric Pavilion building in Northampton town centre next month

A new ‘restropub’, which combines a restaurant and a pub, is set to open in the former Electric Pavilion building in Northampton town centre next month.

Craft & Skewers hopes to open in the second week of May, and the official opening date will be confirmed by the end of this month.

The concept behind the new venue is that authentic Indian street food will meet a traditional pub environment.

This is the second location for Craft & Skewers, which has proved successful in Newport Pagnell since it first opened in November 2021.

The team hopes to replicate the “casual aura of a pub”, where customers will have the opportunity to enjoy cocktails and craft beers while watching live sports.

Avishek Prakash, one of the owner-directors of Craft & Skewers, said: “I’ve been involved in the hospitality industry for 22 years, mainly with restaurants with buffets.

“Restaurants work very hard to bring customers in, but people don’t have to be encouraged to go to a pub.

“Our concept is we want to marry restaurants and pubs together, by bringing Indian food to a pub-like environment.”

Avishek says this has been done successfully in Birmingham before, but there was the potential for it to be taken even further.

He said: “We’ve got the winning formula, and our venues are a lot more Instagrammable than a typical pub.”

The Craft & Skewers team was looking to expand to a new location, close by to where the first restropub is located.

They wanted to opt for a town or city centre to provide a good place for groups to meet up, and Avishek hopes this will be the case following their move to Northampton.

“This is the perfect venue,” he said.

When asked what people can expect from inside the building, Avishek says there will be seating in the bar area for between 25 and 30 people as you enter.

There will be high tables and two television screens for live sports.

As you walk further into the venue and up a ramp, there will be the main dining area with seating for a further 60 people – with a couple more television screens so people can eat and watch simultaneously.

They also plan to utilise the space outside as the warm weather is approaching.

With a big bar on the left as you enter the building, there will be 12 taps for craft and traditional beers.

“Indian restaurants are more popular in the winter time,” said the owner-director. “In the summer, more people prefer to go to pubs and drinking venues.

“We hope what we’re offering will be popular all year round.”

The venue is hoping to open during the second week of May and an official launch event will take place a couple of weeks later.

The dates of these will be confirmed in due course.

The food menu offered in Newport Pagnell consists of cocktail plates, home style curries, mixed grills on sizzlers, and sides and sundries – including a variety of rice and naan bread.

Avishek says the Northampton menu will be “90 percent the same” as what is offered there, but they are hoping to simplify it further to meet everyone’s needs even when the venue gets busy.

There will also be desserts to choose from.

When asked why they have made the decision to expand at such a difficult time for the hospitality industry, Avishek said: “Our sales have increased by 20 percent recently.

“We think it’s because people want to escape to a place they can relax, where there is also an offer of good food and drink.”

The Electric Pavilion staff, who worked at the former cocktail bar and restaurant until it shut down in February this year, have all been offered jobs at the new Craft & Skewers.

Members of the public are also being invited to apply for roles, as they will need a total of 20 staff members – four in the kitchen and 12 working front of house.

Anyone interested in the vacancies at Craft & Skewers should email [email protected].