Tue 19th May 2015 - Deltic Group – our bar estate will be smaller than 70 sites Deltic Group – our bar estate will be smaller than 70 sites: Peter Marks, chief executive of Deltic Group, the new name for nightclub operator Luminar, has reported that its late-night bar division, a new focus for the company, is unlikely to ever expand to match the 70 sites once operated under the Chicago Rock banner. The company is to convert its eight Chicago Rock sites to a new brand Bar & Beyond, starting with a site in Chelmsford, before looking for new sites in about six months’ time. Mark told Propel: “It’s really difficult to be accurate on eventual site numbers. Chicago Rock did operate in 70 towns at one stage. Could we get to 70 again? I doubt it. We don’t have an exact number in mind – it’s a case of seeing how Chelmsford goes.” Mark said Bar & Beyond would operate as a two-part venue. At the front will be a bar open from 6pm or 7pm between Thursday and Friday, occupying about one-third of the total square footage. Opening later, the Beyond part of the venue will be the later night operation. Music will be mainstream and up-to-date – Chicago Rock, historically, had a pre-1986 classics playlist. Marks said: “The pre-1986 playlist worked very well until (we found) everyone inside was over 40.” Décor will be “industrial, raw and stripped back”. “We’re not looking to be Shoreditch-cool but we don’t want to patronise our customers either,” said Marks. More generally, Marks reported that the company has now refurbished 22 out of 50 of its nightclubs, with like-for-likes running at 5% – weekend trading is very strong alongside mid-weeks with Thursdays a little soft. The company also reported that it now has a least two female members of doorstaff at all its nightclubs following on from a successful policy at its Brighton Oceania site whereby the external customer-facing doorstaff are all women.