Words: Simon Paterson Images: Ginners
I’ll give you one guess what Ginners Bar, the latest edition to Chesterfield town centres thriving night-life scene sells? That’s right, gin! And, what a selection, with over 40 to choose from!
Ginners Bar is the kind of place you take pictures of yourself in and post them on Instagram because it’s cool, and by association, so are you! The décor is rustic with the perfect blend of exposed metal and wood throughout, yet somehow manages to create that homely, warm feeling you have when you finally settle down with a glass of your chosen tipple after a hard day.
Ginners is the brainchild of lifelong Cestrefeldian, Jon Burton. I was lucky enough to catch-up with him to sample the goods, I mean interview him!
Jon, tell me a bit about Ginners, please?
"We are (Ginners) a new gin bar in the town centre. You’d be forgiven for assuming we named it after the drink, but we called the bar Ginners in remembrance of my late step dad Ginner who was amazing. We have a wide selection of over 40 premium gins and tonics plus a range of spirits; including rums, vodkas, whiskeys, beers and ciders. So, we are a new bar in town, a nice friendly place with a wide choice of drinks at a reasonable price."
Have you always wanted to open a gin bar, has this been on your long-term goal list for some time?
"Well, initially I was thinking of a micro-pub in a nice quiet village in or around the Peak District, somewhere like Holymoorside. I’ve been keeping a lookout for some time for any opportunities that came up and this bar became available. It was opened briefly by the previous owners as a micro-pub so It was easy to convert it into a gin bar."
Did you know much about gin before you opened a gin bar, if not I can’t imagine the research was a chore?
"If I'm honest I didn’t. I had only tried a couple of gins previously and didn’t really like it. So, naturally, not liking gin, I thought I better open a gin bar! But since doing my research I have grown to love gin, I am a big fan of fruit gins. With gin it’s about finding the right one for you, there is a gin for everyone and here we have a massive choice, so pop in and get trying, sensibly of course."
At this point, I thought I had better sample the goods. Jon asked me a few questions about my pallet before recommending a cloudy lemon gin by Lonewolf with a plain tonic. I drank it. All of it. It was good. I’ll be back.
Where do you see Ginners slotting into the Chesterfield high street?
"I see it as more of an early bar, having said that we had people coming in right up until midnight sampling the gins and beers that we do. Being situated opposite the Winding Wheel it’s the perfect spot for a pre or post show drink. It’s the kind of bar you pop into after work with your colleagues for a quick drink before the commute home, or take someone on a first or 100th date. It’s a bar for anyone on any occasion and I can’t wait to meet all of your lovely readers."
Ginners is a wonderful edition to Stephenson’s Place and I have no doubt that it will be here for many years to come. So, pop down say ‘ey-up’ to Jon and post some photos on Instagram, you know you want to.
Ginners
35 Stephenson's Place
Chesterfield
S40 1XL
Tel: 01246 938778
@Ginnersmicrobar