More Than a Pint: connecting communities through independent venues

Owen Jackson

I’ve worked in hospitality for 12 years, and for the last few of those I’ve had the privilege of managing Belgium & Blues, a small Belgian-style cellar bar tucked away in Southampton city centre. We opened our doors on Halloween 2016, and for nine years now the bar has quietly been part of the city’s cultural fabric – a place where people come together over a pint, a conversation, or simply a moment away from the noise outside.

On any given day, the mix of people coming through our doors says a lot about Southampton itself. There are beer enthusiasts hunting down new releases, lunchtime regulars enjoying a cask ale, after-work crowds unwinding, and groups on a night out looking for something a bit more interesting than the usual macro lagers. That diversity is something we actively celebrate. Beer shouldn’t be intimidating or exclusive, and it certainly isn’t just the fizzy yellow stereotype many people imagine. There’s a beer out there for everyone – sometimes it just takes the right place to discover it.

The bar originally began as a collaboration between three friends: Steve Lee, Jack Glennie & Alan Williams, who wanted to offer something genuinely different to the city, while creating a space that felt safe, welcoming and inclusive. Today the bar is owned by Jack, and I’ve been managing it since 2022, but those original values still guide everything we do. Beer is for everyone, and so is the space around it.

Consistency is one of the most underrated parts of building community. People like knowing what to expect: the welcome, the atmosphere, and what’s on the bar. For us, that means balancing a strong, recognisable core range with room to experiment. Alongside more unusual beers from across the UK, Europe and the US, we permanently pour trusted names like Budvar, Sierra Nevada, Beamish, Chouffe and Boddingtons on cask. It’s a combination you won’t find anywhere else in Southampton year-round, and in uncertain times, familiarity and quality really matter. They build trust, encourage people to return, and help keep social spaces alive.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is using beer as a way to connect Southampton to the wider world. Through tasting evenings, ‘Meet the Brewer’ events and food and beer pairings, we’ve been lucky enough to welcome breweries and brewers from across the UK and Europe into the city. Recently, we’ve hosted Belgian breweries such as De Halve Maan, Kasteel Von Honsebrouck and Trappist Westmalle – moments where a small bar becomes a meeting point between cultures.

That said, great beer doesn’t only come from afar. Hampshire has an incredible brewing scene on our doorstep, and supporting local producers is just as important. We’ve worked closely with Vibrant Forest in Hardley, Dead Duck in the New Forest, and our neighbours at Dancing Man Brewery. To celebrate our ninth birthday, we collaborated with Dancing Man and Vibrant Forest on a Belgian-style pale ale called ‘Cloud Neuf’ – a project that brought together three Hampshire businesses passionate about doing things properly. Those collaborations are about more than beer; they’re about relationships, shared values and mutual support.

Supporting independent venues really does matter. Money spent locally stays local – it supports jobs, suppliers, artists and producers, and it helps keep city centres feeling human rather than uniform. Independent venues reinvest back into their communities in ways that are visible and tangible.

At the same time, it would be dishonest not to acknowledge how challenging things have become. Rising costs, energy bills, business rates and taxes have all increased, while meaningful government support has been limited. Independent hospitality has largely been left to absorb these pressures alone. When people choose local, they’re not just buying a pint – they’re helping protect the character, diversity and social life of Southampton. Without that support, we risk losing the places that give cities their identity, and once they’re gone, they’re incredibly hard to replace.

For me, it all comes back to a simple idea I’m proud to work by every day: drink better -and look after the places that bring us together.