A HOYLAND bar dubbed 'Fight Club' because of its rough reputation for violence and drugs is set to be transformed into a worker-friendly watering hole.
Perrin's Bar, formerly known as Charisma, is on the second floor of the old Methodist church building on Market Street.
The historic three-floor building was bought by Graham Hawkes in 2003 and has over the years has housed a medieval theme restaurant, a bar and a nightclub. The partners pumped in more than £600,000 to the businesses.
But the operation became too big for Mr Hawkes and his business partner. They brought in managers to run it in 2005 and later leased out the bar to tenants.
Since then, the restaurant and nightclub have closed leaving a bar that degenerated because of a succession of tenants who have "run it down," said Mr Hawkes. The bar officially closed a month ago.
Mr Hawkes, who also runs a gas training business on Market Street, said: "We put one manager in after another and then leased the bar to tenants which didn't work either. People nicknamed it 'Fight Club' and it got to the point where I wouldn't go in myself - and I own it.
"The pub had a bad name because of the clientele. There were cocaine bags on the floor and the police were close to shutting it down and told me to sort it out."
Now Mr Hawkes has redecorated the bar and is re-launching it in three weeks as '428 Bar.' It will open from 4pm until 8pm and is aimed at attracting people who just want a quiet drink after work.
