Preston bar The Aviary celebrates its first birthday and thanks customers for their support

The Aviary on Blackpool Road was opened a year ago, on December 16 2022, by married couple Karen and Paul Crossland.

Karen, a former Larches County Primary School and Ashton-on-Ribble High School pupil, says opening a bar was always her dream and she "wouldn’t have done it anywhere else other than Ashton."

The bar, which is named after the aviary that Karen has happy memories of visiting as a child in Haslam Park, has been transformed from a former retail unit and flat to a two-storey bar with a first floor function room known as Upstairs @ The Aviary.

What has The Aviary said about reaching this milestone?

In a joint statement, Karen and Paul said "When creating The Aviary, we knew we wanted it to be a stylish and comfortable venue for the people of Ashton and the wider community. We wanted to be a little bit different and give the customers choice. We have a wide selection of draught beers including German, Belgium and Japanese lines as well as an extensive wines, spirits and cocktail menu.

"We want to bring people together and we see The Aviary doing that. The support we have received over the last 12 months has been phenomenal and we’d like to thank every one for their continued patronage. We have made lots of lovely, new friends and we love doing what we do.

"We only have one goal: we want every customer to leave happy."

How did they celebrate The Aviary's birthday?

A mini birthday event was held on Sunday, December 17 in which everyone who attended got some free fizz and nibbles!

What goes on at The Aviary?

The bar is open Tuesday to Sunday and hosts events and collaborations every week.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday is Pizza & A Pint Night 5pm to 9pm – a choice of drink and a 12” Volare pizza of your liking. The owners say this is "really popular with returning customers every week".

The Aviary also hold monthly quiz nights, musicians’ evenings, comedy nights and live music, as well as events in Upstairs @ The Aviary like Wine Tasing, Knit & Natter and Christmas Wreath workshops.

Upstairs @ The Aviary is also available for celebrations and meetings for up to 30 people with the 2024 diary is already filling up with baby showers, birthday parties and get togethers.

The bar is also hosting a charity event on December 27 for The Foxton Centre involving six hours of live music - find out more by visiting The Aviary's Facebook page.