A landmark LGBTQIA+ bar adjacent to the Edinburgh Playhouse is set for a £230,000 revamp designed to ‘keep it relevant and safeguard its future’.
The investment in CC Blooms on Greenside Place is being undertaken by Heineken-owned Star Pubs and its licensees – and husbands – Mitch Stark and Tim Douglas, who have run the well-known venue since 2008.
Stark said: “We’ve seen many changes in Edinburgh over the years, and there’s now increasing demand for casual dining and socialising during the day and earlier in the evenings. We’re adjusting CC Blooms accordingly.
“It’ll still be a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community that is welcoming to all and a fantastic place for a great night out, but we’ll be opening earlier and changing up the food to meet new trends and broaden its appeal.
“Our aim is to create a unique setting for socialising, so that every occasion is special for our customers.”
The project will transform the ground floor bar with a new look and bring in a new menu of pizzas and sharing platters plus an earlier 1pm opening time.
The bar overhaul begins on 25th August and will complete in late September – but CC Blooms’ downstairs bar and nightclub, Lab, will remain open throughout.
Originally a tenement, the category B listed building – which dates back to 1798 – had a ground floor extension with a new frontage added when the Playhouse was built in 1929.
The latest works will completely renovate and repaint the exterior, installing new lighting, gold signage and an alfresco pavement area.
The internal makeover will incorporate rich colours, velvet-covered banquette seating, and a herringbone wood floor. Marble-topped tables, glazed wall tiles, and an arched back bar will complete the transformation, along with long velvet drapes, in a nod to the theatre next door.
The new layout aims to cater for all occasions with a lounge area with relaxed seating at the front, high stools and poseur tables in a bar-focused social area, and recessed spaces that can be booked for private parties.
The flexible setup allows the back to become a small late-night dance floor, adding an after-hours vibe. The exposed stone pillars and archways from the building’s original 18th-century façade, a treasured feature of the current bar, will continue to have pride of place.
Mitch and Tim jumped at the chance to take on CC Blooms when it came on the market 17 years ago. Mitch recalled: “We owned a pub outside Edinburgh at the time but had been regulars of CC Blooms for years and like many others we loved it.
“It’s always had a brilliant atmosphere, helped by its lovely customers and the casts of shows at the Playhouse who adopt CC Blooms as their local when they’re in the city.
“We never imagined one day it would be ours. We moved heaven and earth to get it and have never looked back. It’s been fantastic and we’re just as passionate about CC Blooms today as when we started out all those years ago,” he said.
“We’ve had many celebs through its doors; it’s a real Edinburgh institution. We see ourselves as custodians and try to move it with the times to keep it relevant and safeguard its future.”
Star Pubs operations director for Scotland, Matt Dyson, said: “We’re delighted to be investing in such a high-profile bar and backing Mitch and Tim in their exciting plans. They put their heart and soul into CC Blooms and do everything to a high standard from the entertainment to the service.
“Thanks to the makeover, CC Blooms will have a distinctive environment to match and new reasons to visit.”
The building is believed to have had various uses – at one time an undertaker is said to have manufactured coffins in the basement that now houses the nightclub. The ground floor is thought to have become a pub in the 1950s or 60s, previously called the Greenside Inn.
In 1994 it was renamed CC Blooms – after Bette Midler’s character in the film Beaches – and established itself as one of Edinburgh’s original LGBTQIA+-friendly venues, a reputation it still holds today.
Mitch added: “The original 18th-century facade was exposed when we carried out our last refurbishment in 2012. You can still see the holes on the pillars where the doorbells were and can just make out the numbers for the apartments.
“When the structure was first revealed it had advertisements for paddle steamers from Leith to London fly-posted on it.”
Mitch and Tim are keen to find out more about the building’s history and are appealing for information and pictures.
