Brotherhood sports bar owner channels 'vintage gentleman's club' with £500,000 refurbishment of Leeds venue

There are plans to refurbish the Manchester bar later in the year.

Ms Dhiman, who launched Brotherhood in 2014 as a more refined approach to sports bar culture, is channelling a vintage gentleman’s club with the new design, incorporating retro sporting nods throughout the two-floor venue.

“Sport doesn’t have to be rough and ready, we’ve really honed in on the hobbies side of it,” she said.

"I set up Brotherhood because I wanted a place where I would feel comfortable as a woman who likes to drink whiskey and watch footie. Thankfully more places have opened up in the last decade but back then everywhere was really rough and there wasn’t an alternative.”

Ms Dhiman, a huge boxing and football fan, said that with the help of AXI Interior Design she’s gone ‘a bit sentimental’ with the rebrand.

"It makes me sad to see so many original pubs close. I thought, right, we’ve got two listed buildings and we’re going to turn turn them back into original pubs but with style.

"I’ve been collecting mirrors and old bar and sports memorabilia for the last 18 months. Every wall will be interesting.”

Ms Dhiman said she has been working on the rebrand since 2019.

"We would have done it a bit earlier but Covid killed us a little bit,” she said. “We had to get back on our feet and this is the perfect time to do it. I’m really proud of the work we’ve put in.”

Ms Dhiman’s ambition is to own five bars across the country and plans to actively look for a third venue in another major city this year.

She is now the sole owner of the profitable business, which has a £3.2m turnover and employs 55 staff, after buying out her original business partner, Dirk Mischendahl, in 2019.

It was her blossoming friendship with the Leeds marketing guru that pushed Ms Dhiman, who previously worked for Arc Inspirations, to open her own bar.

"I used to serve him every Friday tea time when I worked for Trio (in Headingley),” she said.

After setting up her own consultancy business Ms Dhiman helped him to transform The Tetley – the former Tetley Brewery in Leeds – into a contemporary art space, bar and restaurant.

"I think we were drinking whiskey one night and he said ‘why don’t you do it for yourself?’ and I said ‘funnily enough I’ve got a business plan’”, she said. “I met him the next day and before you know it I’ve signed for a bar four months later.

"Dirk made my dreams come true. i would never have had the capital to do it on my own.

"When we set up the business we had a deal that I’d buy him out after five years. I managed to do that and gifted him five per cent of the business because he’s a sweetheart and a good mentor.”

The last 10 years have been a steep learning curve thanks to Covid but Ms Dhiman said it’s made her a better operator and employer. “You can sit and moan but it’s about your attitude to a problem. You’ve just got to find a different way of doing things,” she added.