Former section of Beales in Kendal will soon be wine bar

The transformation of part of the former Beales building at the Spinning Jennies development has finished and the keys have been handed over to bosses of a planned new wine bar called 5 O'Clock Somewhere.

The project is changing the former department store into separate shop units, a food hall and retail stalls, and flats. Wine bar 5 O'Clock Somewhere will open the unit at the end of the development at 55 Finkle Street. 

The entrance to the new bar (Image: Spinning Jennies)

The wine bar is now under the ownership of Ronnie Mullin, who runs The Factory Tap, a real ale bar on Aynam Road. It currently has no opening date. 

Spinning Jennies co-owner Geraldine Ward said the building is 'a glass tower from the 60s' that now has to conform to modern building standards - and that water had been flowing down the stairs when they took ownership of the former Beales. 

The top of the wine bar (Image: Spinning Jennies)

In the process of developing the building the team found long-lost ornaments from the department store such as Staffordshire Blue tiles in the rear staircase. 

READ MORE: Beales store Kendal starts to transform into Spinning Jennies

So far the only unit to be fully opened and trading as part of the Spinning Jennies development is Lakeland Hampers. 

Ms Ward said: "It is very exciting. It has been the hardest part, it is a glass tower that was built in the late 1960s. When we bought the building it was in the worst state of the whole project, and the water was literally a waterfall down the stairs when it rained."

The view that customers at Five O'Clock Somewhere will have (Image: Spinning Jennies)

About the asbestos removal, Ms Ward said: "We are almost all clear. At the moment the asbestos teams are in all month with us. The bit that will still need doing is the lower ground floor. That will be the building clear. It is already a sigh of relief." 

The middle section of the development, which is where the main department store was, will have a food hall and retail stalls. The old staircase is being replaced but the pitch pine wood used for the banisters will be turned into tables. Metal pipes for the sprinkler system that will also be replaced will be used as table legs. 

The main section of the development is still on for September 2024. The flats on the top floor still need to go through the planning office before work resumes.