Key Points
- Northern Monkey Bar in Bolton town centre, Greater Manchester, posted a candid Facebook update highlighting economic pressures on small businesses.
- Owners Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey founded Northern Monkey Brew Co in 2016, initially brewing cask ales for local pubs before expanding to a microbar in 2018 serving beers, cocktails, and food.
- The post criticises the minimum wage rise from £7.38 (2018, for 21-25 year olds) to £12.81 in April 2026, a 73.5% increase over seven years.
- Bar always paid above minimum wage to value staff but questions how small businesses cope amid rising supplier costs, frozen tax thresholds, National Insurance hikes, anticipated beer duty increases, and ending business rates relief.
- Post declares: "A little honesty from your local pub… because apparently we’re all meant to stay quiet" and "We're done pretending everything's fine."
- The update has attracted numerous responses, sparking public debate on the pub trade's challenges.
Northern Monkey Bar in Bolton has ignited a fierce debate with a stark Facebook post exposing the brutal economic realities facing small pubs, as owners decry soaring minimum wages and mounting costs threatening their survival.
Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey, founders of Northern Monkey Brew Co, launched their venture in 2016 by brewing cask ales supplied to local pubs and bars across Greater Manchester. Growing demand prompted expansion in 2018 with a microbar in Bolton town centre's Nelson Square, offering their own beers alongside cocktails, pizzas, nachos, and loaded fries. The venue has built a reputation as Bolton's top spot for craft ales, hosting events like student deals, half-price pizza Thursdays, hoppy hours, buskers balls, comedy nights, Sunday jazz, and pool tournaments.
In a post shared on the bar's Facebook page, which boasts over 6,000 likes and thousands of check-ins, the owners laid bare their frustrations. The message begins:
"A little honesty from your local pub… because apparently we’re all meant to stay quiet. When we opened in 2018, minimum wage for 21-25 year olds was £7.38."
It continues:
"We’ve always tried to pay above that because we actually value our staff (wild concept, I know). From April it jumps to £12.81. That’s a 73.5% increase in 7 years!"
The post escalates:
"Now listen… we want people to earn a good wage. But maybe someone in charge should explain how small businesses are meant to afford it while suppliers go up, tax thresholds are frozen, NI goes up, beer duty will no doubt go up, and business rates relief is ending (translation: they’re going up too)."
Culminating in a defiant tone, it states:
"'We're done pretending everything's fine'."
This raw admission has drawn widespread responses, from supportive comments backing the bar's honesty to discussions on broader hospitality woes.
What prompted Northern Monkey Bar's candid outburst?
The Facebook post emerged amid a perfect storm of economic pressures battering the UK pub sector. Owners Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey emphasise their commitment to staff, having consistently paid above the 2018 minimum wage of £7.38 for 21-25 year olds, now leaping to £12.81 in April 2026—a 73.5% rise. As reported in the original coverage, this escalation compounds other hikes: supplier prices climbing relentlessly, frozen tax thresholds squeezing profits, National Insurance contributions rising, impending beer duty increases, and the termination of business rates relief, effectively hiking those costs further.
Northern Monkey Bar's trajectory underscores the challenges. Starting as Northern Monkey Brew Co in 2016 on Chorley Street, Bolton, the duo scaled from brewing for others to opening their microbar in 2018 at Nelson Square. The venue thrives on community events—Wednesday student deals, Thursday half-price pizzas, Friday hoppy hours, monthly buskers balls, Ben Lawes-hosted comedy nights, Sunday jazz, and pool tournaments—yet these owners now question sustainability. The post's viral traction, with hundreds engaging, reflects pent-up frustration in Greater Manchester's hospitality scene.
How has the minimum wage hike impacted pubs like Northern Monkey?
The post pinpoints the April 2026 minimum wage jump to £12.81 for 21-25 year olds as a tipping point, up 73.5% from £7.38 in 2018. Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey note:
"We’ve always tried to pay above that because we actually value our staff (wild concept, I know)."
Yet they challenge policymakers:
"maybe someone in charge should explain how small businesses are meant to afford it."
This sentiment echoes across the sector, where wage bills strain already thin margins.
Compounding this, frozen tax thresholds prevent salary rises without higher tax burdens, National Insurance (NI) contributions escalate employer costs, and beer duty—already a pub killer—is "no doubt" set to rise. Business rates relief ending translates to direct increases, while supplier costs surge unchecked. Northern Monkey's honesty—"We're done pretending everything's fine"—has resonated, prompting responses questioning government support for independents versus chains.
What is the backstory of Northern Monkey Brew Co?
Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey established Northern Monkey Brew Co in 2016, focusing on cask ales brewed on Chorley Street, Bolton, and supplied to local venues. Demand surged, leading to the 2018 microbar launch in Nelson Square, blending their beers with cocktails, pizzas, nachos, and loaded fries. The Facebook page describes it as
"Boltons number 1 venue for craft ales, crazy..."
with 6,291 likes, 915 talking about it, and 8,735 check-ins as of recent activity.
Events define its appeal: student deals Wednesdays, half-price pizzas Thursdays, hoppy hours Fridays, buskers balls, comedy with Ben Lawes, Sunday jazz, and pool tournaments. Past posts highlight lively nights, like Halloween sangria parties and costume crowds, with staff "crying laughing behind the bar" at costumes from 90s Britney to Freddy Krueger. Yet the recent post shifts from celebration to survival plea.
Why is this post sparking widespread debate?
The declaration
"A little honesty from your local pub… because apparently we’re all meant to stay quiet"
has unleashed responses on Facebook, blending sympathy, anger at policy, and pub loyalty. Commenters praise the bar's staff valuation and call for fairer small business aid, while others debate wage fairness versus viability. It taps into national conversations on hospitality's post-pandemic fragility, where independents like Northern Monkey fight chains with deeper pockets.
As reported in initial coverage, the post's candour
"we want people to earn a good wage"
avoids anti-worker rhetoric, instead urging accountability: "someone in charge should explain." This neutrality amplifies its reach, positioning it as a microcosm of UK small business strife amid Labour's wage policies under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government. Greater Manchester's pub culture, from Bolton's craft scene to Manchester's Northern Monkey variants, amplifies local resonance.
What measures is Northern Monkey Bar taking to survive?
While specifics on cutbacks remain unstated, the post implies tough choices ahead to offset the 73.5% wage hike and layered costs. Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey's history of above-minimum pay signals reluctance to slash staff, potentially eyeing price hikes, reduced hours, or event tweaks. Their brewery-to-bar model offers some resilience, brewing on-site to control beer costs, but external pressures like duty loom large.
Community backing via Facebook—thousands of followers—may bolster through loyalty, as seen in past event hype. The post's call-out
"We're done pretending everything's fine"
invites dialogue, possibly rallying patrons and peers. Yet without policy shifts, venues risk closures, echoing national trends where pubs shutter weekly.
How does this reflect Greater Manchester's pub struggles?
Bolton's Northern Monkey exemplifies regional woes, where craft hubs face identical squeezes. Manchester's Northern Monkey outlets, like those opposite Printworks with DJ Skippy Thursdays and Sundays, share vibrancy but vulnerability. The post's traction underscores unity: from frozen taxes to NI rises, all independents grapple similarly.
Government metrics confirm pub distress, with wage policies lauded for workers but lambasted by owners like Bailey and Convey. Debate rages on balancing living wages with business lifelines, as relief ends and duties threaten. This Bolton voice amplifies calls for targeted aid.
What do industry experts say about these pressures?
Though direct quotes from experts post-publication are pending, the post aligns with British Beer and Pub Association warnings on wage-duty doubles. Owners like Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey echo trade bodies: supplier inflation, at 5-10% yearly, erodes margins further. Frozen thresholds since 2021 have pulled thousands into higher bands, per HMRC data.
Anticipated beer duty hikes, post-fiscal events, compound this. Business rates, post-relief, revert to punitive levels for non-chain sites. Northern Monkey's plea
"explain how small businesses are meant to afford it"
mirrors CBI pleas for thresholds unfreezing.