The team behind a recently reopened pub and nightclub in the town centre say customers have responded positively to the changes they have made.
Charlotte Thornton and Craig Waters took over The Rolleston Arms and Levels Nightclub on Commercial Road and reopened the venue in June, after it was closed in January.
Since then they have revived the town’s alternative music scene and are set to to host the biggest drum and bass event in Swindon with free entry
they are preparing to welcome big names like DJ Hype, DJ Hazard, MC Daddy Earl and DJ Phantasy on Saturday, July 27.
From 3pm, the event is family-friendly with music and a local food truck in the Levels Courtyard, before moving inside at 10pm for over 18s to enjoy the club night.
There are also plans for more events, including Depravation Festival, featuring heavy metal music, an emo night and a regular LGBTQ+ event with proceeds going to Swindon Pride.
Charlotte said: “With these events we’re hoping to bring in a younger crowd. For a while they’ve been used to going to Old Town as the hub of bars and clubs, so now seeing that they’re willing to venture down here is really nice.
“We’ve redone the pub and club. We cleaned from top to bottom – there’s new furniture, new décor, and a new cooling system, we have the freshest beer on tap in Swindon at the moment.
“People have responded really well, everyone who has not been here before says it is so different. We were worried when we did the changes because the venue had been around for so long and sometimes people don’t like change, but they can really see the love that has gone into it.
“It helps we have an absolutely brilliant team who are very dedicated and friendly. It’s our first time running a pub/club. There’s definitely been learning curves, but it’s all been quite enjoyable and we’ve not had a massive stress with it. I think we’ve come in with fresh mindset and fresh ideas, which has made it a lot easier.
“We’re also going to start doing food, hopefully from mid-August, so we can get people here in the daytime, which helps us and other local businesses. We've lived round the corner for seven years, so we've watched the decline generally in the town centre. It’s nice to possibly be part of changing that.”
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