The first clue that The Middle Ale is not a normal pub comes when you look at the shelves: stacked not with bags of crisps and packets of nuts but with the full range of Lidl groceries. This is a pub owned and operated by the supermarket chain itself – a world first for the brand, according to the company.
The brightly painted walls and produce displays could be dismissed as a gimmick, but the reality is that this venture is a creative solution to a decades-old licensing problem. In Northern Ireland, supermarkets must clear two major hurdles before they can sell alcohol: they must buy a licence 'surrendered' by a closing pub – a strict cap on numbers – and then pass an 'inadequacy' test proving existing off-licences in the area are insufficient.
“Lidl opens its first ever pub, The Middle Ale in Dundonald, after Northern Ireland licensing laws forced a creative workaround.”
Lidl could not pass the inadequacy test for a standard off-licence. But it could pass the test for a pub, because two bars near its Dundonald store have closed in recent years. So the company spent £500,000 turning part of its premises into The Middle Ale – a name that plays on the chain's famous middle aisle – and hired eight additional staff.
Gordon Cruikshanks, regional managing director for Lidl Northern Ireland, told BBC News NI the journey from inception to opening day was long, involving courts and hurdles. 'The challenges surrounding the liquor licensing laws in Northern Ireland, they're well known and long documented,' he said, describing it as 'a long wait'. When asked whether the laws should be updated, he replied that it was 'for others to continue to discuss'.
Cruikshanks stressed that the pub is not a stunt. 'In the Dundonald area, there's been a significant increase in the population, and whenever we saw the opportunity to open a pub, we thought that was the best option to be able to provide the community in Dundonald with our full range of products so they can do a full shop with us.' He added: 'This is certainly a unique scenario for us, but we don't have any plans currently to open any more pubs.'
Local resident Charlie Steele, 70, was enthusiastic about the new venture. 'It's absolutely fantastic – just what the area needs,' he said. 'We've lost a couple of pubs in the last three or four years and I think it's the first one in Europe… we're really looking forward to it.' He dismissed any concern about a multinational owning the pub. 'It will bring new beers, German beers, Belgian beers, and stuff like that.'
Earlier this week, BBC News NI was given exclusive access to the site ahead of opening day. The question now is whether other supermarkets will follow, or whether Northern Ireland's licensing laws – which forced Lidl into this unusual detour – will themselves be revisited.