American-themed bar Buzzby's opens doors in St Helens

The former Punch Tarmey's venue on Westfield Street, which had a brief spell as Kingdom last year, has been given a new lease of life as Buzzby's.

Owner Andrew Mikhail, who has various venues across Liverpool, St Helens and Southport, has opened the American-themed "dive bar", an old-style drinking establishment with relatively inexpensive drinks, pool, darts and TV screens.

The move aims to deliver a further boost to the town centre nightlife scene in St Helens, which has endured struggles since the Covid pandemic.

Friends enjoying the interactive darts at Buzzby's (Image: Buzzby's) Last month the Tipsy Tap sports bar opened on Ormskirk Street in the former Cork & Dough and Secret Garden premises.

Now one of the largest empty premises on Westfield Street is back open.

It is hoped the new venues will increase the attractiveness of the town centre's night-time offering and that the drinks prices will lead to competition fo the likes of Wetherspoons. 

Buzzby's opened with live music - which is expected to be a regular occurrence - and it will also aim to attract people who want to watch major sporting events on teleivision.

The bar has an American theme throughout (Image: Buzzby's) It will aim to mirror the success of Mikhail Hotel & Leisure group's Top Gun-themed Mavericks bar in Southport.

The bar's name also provides a link through its name to a St Helens venue of yesteryear.

Buzzbys is a nod to the former Buzby's bar from Bridge Street, St Helens, which ran through the 1990s and 2000s.

The bar enjoyed a lovely opening weekend (Image: Buzzby's) The darts lanes are proving a hit (Image: Buzzby's) There's also the added attraction of the bar's first floor, which includes lanes of interactive darts.

The bar adds to the variety of places to go during a night out in St Helens (Image: Buzzby's) The premises had been rented to tenants in recent years - opening as Circus and latterly Kingdom - and then listed for sale earlier this year, but after the success of Mavericks in Southport, the owners hope launching a sister bar will be a success.

With the new openings representing a positive move for St Helens' nightlife, there is hope more will follow. The Star understands investors are showing interest in transforming various buildings around the town centre.