BATCH Bottlestore, a halfway house between an off licence and tap room, has opened within Kings Court’s secluded courtyard off Railway Street, Altrincham.

Behind this new independent venture are local residents Chris Bardsley and Will Brown, the former management team behind the town’s Pi bar.

They have taken Unit 6 in this leisure and office complex. The 600 sq ft outlet has been let on a three year lease.

Batch Bottlestore specialises in all things beer with six keg lines, one cask beer with growlers soon to be available, a re-sealable takeaway keg beer flagon. Mr Bardsley said: “We have been big fans of the bottle shop business model and have been waiting for the right opportunity to arise. Kings Court is a spot we felt was perfect for what we wanted to do, with communal seating for all the units to use.

“We love the direction the courtyard is now going thanks to Cheshire Tap, Kings Café, Libero and Mad Mug, so we hope to bring something a bit different to both the courtyard and Altrincham itself. We will be primarily operating as a shop for take-out consumption, but will have all the beer available to drink in as well, we simply charge £1 corkage for sitting in. We stock hundreds of different beers along with a wide range of great quality gins and other spirits and some great wines.”

It is open from noon to 9pm Sunday to Thursday and noon until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Daniel Lee, director, Regional Property Solutions, who let the unit on behalf of the landlord Wizard Trading (Europe) Ltd, said: “Kings Court is proving to be great destination for local independent food and drink operators and has certainly established itself as a popular and stylish leisure destination tucked away.”