The owner of a pub with the smallest bar in Europe has joked that he regularly struggles to serve customers because of how short it is.
Barry Hayes, 60, is the owner of The Circus Tavern in Manchester city center, which is just 45 feet (13 meters) long, and the bar itself is just three feet (one meter) in length.
He says he can only fit around 45 people in the entire property and that customers regularly come in and say, “Wow, is that really it?”
Barry, who has owned the pub for 15 years, is 6ft 5in tall and regularly struggles to serve customers because of how small it is.
He said: “Officially, you can fit around 45 people in the pub if they are all sitting down.
“But around 70 people can fit inside if they are standing up and talking.
“People always say, ‘Wow, is that really it?’
“I’m 6ft 5in—it’s the smallest bar with the biggest landlord.”
Barry says the pub, which was built in 1790, is made up of two rooms, and by the time you’ve walked just a few feet inside, you’re already at the bar.
He took over the lease for the pub in 2010, and there is even writing on the front of the building that says, “The smallest bar in Europe, the biggest welcome in the world.”
Barry said: “The person who had the pub put an advertisement in the local paper.
“We made a business plan, and that was it.
“There are so many times I’ve banged my head.”
