Pasini Leisure: Three Wise Monkeys
Pasini Leisure: Three Wise Monkeys
In the heart of Colchester, the Three Wise Monkeys is a trendy nightlife hotspot which spans 4 floors, packing a punch with a classic pub, speakeasy-style gin bar, smokehouse and live music venue all under one roof.
With the support of Backing Essex Business, Let’s Do Business Finance and the local council, Pasini Leisure were able to expand their operations under the challenging circumstances of the pandemic, which enabled the owners to make the Three Wise Monkeys into the popular venue it is today.
Owners of the Three Wise Monkeys, Pasini Leisure, operates several independent hospitality venues across Essex and Suffolk, with two other venues in Colchester including Twisters Bar and V Bar, making the Three Wise Monkeys venue a successful third addition to their portfolio in the Colchester area, and another Three Wise Monkeys in Ipswich which opened in 2018.
“Currently we have a 500 capacity venue, and we’ve got our brewery project next door which we’re going to be upscaling.
We’re going to have this big open and visible brewery with two bars, which will take our capacity to 720, which makes us one of the biggest in North East Essex”
A few years before the pandemic was even on the horizon in 2016, Pasini had set their sights on expanding the business and filling the gap in the market for in-house microbreweries in the local area. It was hoped that the launch of a microbrewery, ‘Other Monkeys Brewing (OMB)’, would enable the business to build two upstairs tasting rooms as well as a retail shop area, ultimately allowing Other Monkeys Brewing to grow their customer base and piggyback off the customers from the Three Wise Monkeys Colchester.
The pandemic resulted in the teams across the Pasini Leisure venues, like the Three Wise Monkeys Colchester, in having to adapt to working differently to how they had expected, especially for a venue that had just got off the starting line, let alone one that had big plans for expansion. The team faced the difficult circumstances of lockdowns and the subsequent closure of the hospitality industry, and once restrictions began to be lifted, they had to get used to working on a table service basis, only being able to provide outside seating, as well as managing their staff throughout all the changing restrictions.
The expansion plans for artisan micro-brewery, Other Monkeys Brewing, planned next to the Colchester establishment, were able to steam ahead despite uncertainty in the hospitality industry in the height of the pandemic. The team received support from Backing Essex Business and Let’s Do Business Finance to secure funding through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which helped to safeguard 327 jobs and create over 30 new jobs, providing a lifeline to these four businesses which had previously struggled to access the financial support they needed from their banks.
“Backing Essex Business provided us with some funding for our expansion with the brewery project next door, and that funding really stopped that project from taking the whole thing under. We’re eternally grateful for that”
With support from Essex County Council, the Pasini Leisure team were also able to quickly secure permits for the expansion of the brewery project next door, so that the rest of the business could continue operating amidst the pandemic and the ongoing refurbishment.
“The Council were very good at helping us get permits in good time and meant that we were able to still operate… the support there was tremendous”
Today, Other Monkeys Brewing is an award-winning microbrewery with eight uniquely tasting craft ale and beers, with plans to grow the range and distribute nationwide in the future, alongside the progression of the existing Pasini Leisure venues, and the possibility of adding more to the chain.
