The new bar wants to make its street one of the busiest in the city

Chris Edwards believes his new bar can serve a certain cocktail better than anyone else. Sister Ray opened in Wolstenholme Square in Liverpool city center in May, taking inspiration from European cafes and cocktail bars in New York.

Owner Chris, 37, from Crosby, has a wealth of experience in the Merseyside hospitality industry, which saw him open Belzan and Madre in Smithdown Road at the Albert Dock. With his other projects going well and having previously run Duke Street’s Filter and Fox, he wanted to return to the Ropewalks area of ​​the city and run another bar there.

Of his new business, Chris told the ECHO: “We’ve been open for about six weeks. It was great – we have pretty deep roots in the area.

“When you start a business in this area, it really helps to build on those roots, to help support you in the beginning, to help you find your feet and set up an organic business. It’s good to have friends in the area.

“My first business was Filter and Fox on Duke Street. I ran it for about five years and it became a bit of an institution. I eventually dropped that to pursue a few other bigger projects.

“On the back end, I had opened Belzan on Smithdown Road. I did that and then opened Madre on the Albert Dock. We did this as a collaboration with our friends in London. I’ve opened a couple in Manchester since then.

“That part of the business is really kicking off in Manchester and we have plans for Leeds and a few other cities. But after having my baby last year I just wanted to put down my roots in Liverpool a bit more – it’s quite easy to get dragged down to Manchester.

“Ever since we closed Filter and Fox, I’ve always had this desire to reopen a cocktail bar in this part of town. The Wolstenholme Square development has been vacant for a long, long time, so we looked into it, spoke to the owner and came up with a plan to open this place up.

“I felt that if I could get this place open and get enough people here, hopefully it would excite the rest of the developments. There is no reason why this street should not be one of the busiest in the city.

“It was at one point – this particular unit is the exact location where the entrance to Cream was. The Ropewalks in general have changed a lot over the last ten years, but this is still a main thoroughfare, there are lots of buildings. continues, a hotel has just opened and there are plans for another hotel The Ropewalks is not finished yet, there is more to come.

Chris drew on his love of cocktail bars in New York and Manhattan as inspiration for Sister Ray’s range of drinks, decor and atmosphere. The bar, which has an understated design and is illuminated by neon and globe lighting, plays vinyl records and offers a range of classic and modern cocktails.

“We started out wanting to bring high quality service, drinks and ingredients with a focus on music,” explained Chris. “The name Sister Ray is a Velvet Underground song that I love.

“I have a great affinity with New York. I have friends who live there and have spent a lot of time there over the past ten years.

“The drinks scene there is very set in their ways when it comes to making classic cocktails. In the UK, the drinks scene can be a bit scientific and a bit crazy at times. A lot of times in New York, they just take it. go back to basics and focus on pre-spirits (cocktails with a base spirit), which we love.

“So we have quite a few of those on the menu, but along with that, we use some more modern techniques. We have thermal mixes, a sous vide machine, we hand cut all the ice ourselves and stuff like that. We make sure we keep it real and we make a lot of classics – classics are the core of what we do.”

That menu changes slightly throughout the day to match your mood. Chris explained: “We have a section of the menu that is for day drinks. There are seven or eight drinks that are reduced before 7pm, they are lighter, more aperitif, spritz-style drinks.

“After 7 p.m., we focus a little more on spirits. But we don’t fit into a certain spirit”.

Asked what he thinks Sister Ray does better than anyone else, he said, “Martini. Cold as ice. We have a great martini right now – a coastal martini.

“It’s inspired by the docks of Liverpool, uses Boatyard gin, has an oyster leaf, sea aster, some Norrie leaves and a little Maldon salt. It’s a tasty martini, kind of coastally inspired. It’s perfect to start with, nothing too sweet, nice and dry.

“So Sweet Life is our riff on a peach Bellini. It uses almond grappa, mango Alphonso, peaches, lime and a nice prosecco in there. It’s very, very nice.”

These drinks are brought together with Chris’s passion for music to give Sister Ray its vibe. He said: “On the music side of things, we’ve just started with weekend DJs and they’re focusing on vinyl. The turntables will be here and there will just be a vinyl collection that the crew will put on, play a whole. album rather than letting Spotify be in charge.

“Spotify has had too much control over the last few years. We want to fight that, use some vinyl and get people listening to albums again.”

Chris added: “We are open all day Saturday and Sunday. Finally, we will open from 10 am until the end, because it is a little more birds. It should be a place where people can come at any time of any day for any reason.

“It’s all traditional and classic stuff that doesn’t go out of style. It’s from bistros and tables, with paneled walls and globe lighting, with little bits of neon. We want that European cafe experience that we love – we’ve chosen something that’s a much more traditional one, but updated with modern colors.

“As the sun goes down, neon floods the room and has a red, late-night bar feel. The neon helps us establish that late night, you can come here to hide, to be tucked away in a booth feel. , have a few cocktails – it’s a great atmosphere.”

Sister Ray is at Unit 2, Block D, Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool L1 4JJ