THE celebration of the 50th anniversary of Andersonstown News is every bit as much about the future as it is about the past.
Though novel and nostalgic, reflections on our history not only show us how far we’ve come, but also where we’re headed. Our changing local night-time economy – driven by a small but significant number of new businesses – exemplifies that direction of travel.
1972 was the bloodiest year of our recent conflict, so a twilight stroll down any of our local thoroughfares might then have revealed the remnants of an earlier riot or fracas. What little establishments remained open were likely to have been pubs. But Troubles aside, the offering wasn’t much improved until quite recently.
Just over a decade ago, I remember finishing a bar shift and going to pick-up some grub on a deserted Andersonstown Road one Sunday, when a drunkard aggressively demanded I hand over my Chow Mein. Having hardly eaten a morsel all day there was little chance of my compliance, but it was unnerving all the same. The point is that a similar encounter is virtually unimaginable on the same road nowadays.
You might now find that same area thronged with young people, families, the elderly – a whole range of different people – enjoying an ice-cream, a coffee, a meal, or any number of great things from the great spots the vibrant Andersonstown Road now boasts.
A stone’s throw from where our encounter took place is Bengal Spice, an Indian Restaurant offering sit-in and takeaway to an ever-changing West Belfast population. Owner Luthfer has form for breathing new life into overlooked locales. His Bengal Brasserie – opened on the Lower Ormeau at a time when few others would – has served the community for 30 years plus. It is one of the many jewels in the crown of a thriving Ormeau Road.
So too has Bengal Spice helped shape the new Andersonstown. Opened just over six years ago, the restaurant is now a go-to spot for people who want a quality dine-in experience without breaking the bank. Mark Ahmed, who looks after day-to-day operations there, said there was always confidence that an Andersonstown restaurant would “be a big success”.
“The Andersonstown Road has a lot of takeaways and fast food places, but there wasn’t many places for locals to dine in in a restaurant,” he said.
“With Bengal Spice you have that opportunity. We’ve been well known for our great service and great food. That’s what the locals want and that’s what we’re supplying them with.”
A bring-your-own alcohol policy also helps when it comes to footing the bill, but the experience is about more than that. The restaurant is part of a flourishing local food scene and is fun alternative to a night in the boozer.
“Everyone leads different lives,” Mark said. “If you want to go out on a Monday night we’re open seven days a week and we’re open all year round. The only day we closed is Christmas, so there’s always an occasion that we’re open for.”
Mark looks forward to the development of the new Casement Park which, alongside new amenities like the Andersonstown Leisure Centre, will see the area become “busier and busier”.
Across the street from Bengal Spice is Arizona Espresso Company – a new arrival to Andersonstown Road that offers coffee and host of other treats until 11pm each evening.
Proprietor David Morgan ignored the naysayers in moving his business, then a staple of the Lisburn Road, to West Belfast.
Reflecting on the changing night-time economy locally, David recognised the influence of both Bengal Spice and his own coffee shop, which have had “big impact on that part of the road”, he said.
“There’s a bit of a buzz about,” he said. “Everyone said to me that I wouldn’t get any night-time trade in Andersonstown, but lo and behold that’s exactly what has happened.”
He added: “There were a lot of raised eyebrows when we were relocating from the Lisburn Road to Andersonstown – it’s not usually the done thing, but I’m from the West and I could see the potential there.”
The casual and ‘no obligations’ space that Arizona provides is key to the changing face of the road.
“You can just have a cup of coffee – nobody is ever going to say ‘is that all you’re having’,” David explained.
“If you went into a restaurant on a Friday night they wouldn’t be amused if you said you just want a cup of coffee.”
The entrepreneur said his coffee shop gives people “a non-alcohol based alternative in the West. We’re actually finding that weeknights are quite busy,” he said.
“People are going out during the week, meeting friends for coffee, and they can drive – to be blunt. If you’re drinking alcohol, you’re in a taxi, it’s a more expensive night out.
Everyone can afford to go out for cup of coffee and a muffin. If you’re going out drinking with friends, it’s considerably more expensive.”
Though overlooked by investors in the past, Andersonstown and West Belfast more generally has always had a demand for alternative night-time options, David insists.
“There still seems to be a lack of confidence about West Belfast – it gets denigrated a lot, which drives me mental,” he stated.
Success breeds success, and David maintains the work of Arizona Espresso Company and Bengal Spice has undoubtedly “attracted other investment into the area”.
He also credits long-serving retailers for providing an “unusual mix” of shops that “you just don’t get it anywhere else now”.
“I always describe it, for people who aren’t familiar with it, as a market town in Belfast, he said.
“It literally has everything. You have Collins’ Furniture across the way, you’ve got Cooper’s Chemist, you’ve got Noel Grimley’s – a lot of those types of retail are gone in other parts of the city.”
He added: “West Belfast has that independence.”
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