When it first opened it was undoubtedly one of the plushest bars in town and now the Albert Bar is once again set to welcome visitors.

Situated in one of Bolton’s grandest venues, the Albert Bar will reopen next week in the Albert Halls.

The venue will also be opening a new box office for people to get tickets in person for the shows staged at the halls.

The Albert Halls has been at the heart of the Bolton’s cultural life for over 100 years, hosting a variety of concerts, shows and civic events.

In recent times, tickets have only been available through the Albert Halls website.

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The new box office will re-open the historic building to the public to reconnect the venue with the local community.

The Albert Bar is also reopening to the public, so customers can pop in and enjoy refreshments with family, friends or colleagues.

Visitors will also be able to browse the host of upcoming events at the Albert Halls.

The Albert Bar was opened by leading chef Paul Heathcote as a restaurant but Covid struck and the bar and restaurant closed just six months after opening.

Scheduled to open next Wednesday (November 16), both the box office and Albert Bar will be open on Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10am-4pm.

The council says the Albert Halls venue is a key part of Bolton Council’s regeneration plan, making the town centre a more vibrant place to live, work and visit.

Bolton Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Hilary Fairclough, said: “I’m delighted that we’re now able to open the front doors of The Albert Halls more regularly.

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“As part of our vision to regenerate the town centre, it’s great that Bolton residents and visitors can now enjoy this space.

“By opening up a box office we’re also making sure our events are easily accessible to all residents and I hope everyone will visit the beautiful venue for some refreshments and to book tickets to one of our great shows.”

There is also hope it could in the future start serving food again.

Cllr Fairclough said: “We want to make the Albert Halls and the town hall more accessible to the public. It’s so lovely in there. It’s very well presented.

“It’s a unique building and it would be lovely for people to enjoy it.”

Cllr Fairclough thinks that the space would be the ideal place come for a relaxed coffee or as a place to work from.

She added: “It will be very small to start with but there are a few ideas of how to grow it once we get going.

“One idea could be pop ups, where chefs can come from outside and do their own thing for a bit of exposure.

“We might also look at getting someone in permanently to take it on as a restaurant.”