Sandwich king looks to revolutionise the 'boozer'

Sandwich king Max Halley has teamed up with multiple operator Ethan David, of Chickpea group, to create a new pub operation which focuses on running “simple and wonderful boozers”.

The pair now have two sites, the Five Bells in Salisbury and recent addition, the Sam Weller’s in Bath, and while the pubs are devoutly wet-led traditional boozers, Halley is rolling out a virtual brand, The Parmo Shop, which will operate out of the Sam Weller’s kitchen.

With his signature style and sense of mischief, The Parmo shop aims to bring a taste of Middlesbrough to the Cotswolds, as Halley added: “why should the people of Middlesbrough be the only ones to have pizzas made of meat?”.

Halley rose to fame off the back of his Finsbury-based sandwich shops, which raised the art of sandwich making to a new level, and he’s now looking to apply his unique vision to the world of pubs.

“What happened to the old fashioned boozer? I felt it was a shame that it was now missing and the industry was going down the gastro route. My vision for [how the pubs would look] was 19th century chop house and early 20th century East End boozer.

“These are not food-led pubs - the gastronomic heights of both pubs will be a pickled egg and a bag of crisps. The idea was to try and bring back the boozer, but to have the same eye I had for sandwiches, when I opened the sandwich shop, but looking at boozers.

“I’ll be bringing a sense of fun, I want to provide environments for people to really enjoy themselves in, without feeling like someone’s trying to flog them lunch all the time.”

MA editor Ed Bedington caught up with him for a chat.