A new café bar has opened at Stoke-on-Trent station, transforming the former First Class Lounge into a facility for both rail passengers and the wider community alike.

It will be the second Titanic bod bar, a new concept from the Burslem based brewery, and will be open from early morning until late in the evening.

Dave Bott, joint Managing Director of Titanic Brewery, said the development represented an £80,000 investment at the historic station building. 12 new jobs will be created.

“As a brewery, we are well known for our award-winning community pubs, but we see the bod concept as meeting a new need in the market,” added Dave. “bod opens early and is a comfortable space for coffee and a light breakfast or lunch before evolving into a craft beer café bar for visitors from lunchtime onwards.

“We are excited to acquire the prime site at Stoke Station following the decision of Virgin Rail to partner with a local company to bring extra facilities for passengers. We have designed the Stoke bod to appeal to both the local community and rail passengers, giving visitors to our home city a good and lasting first impression of Stoke-on-Trent.”

Darren Horley, Head of Commercial for Stations at Virgin Trains said: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Titanic Brewery who deserve great credit for their energy and passion. We have no doubt bod will be a great success and we look forward to playing our part in making this happen.

“It is part of our strategy to challenge the traditional views about station management and deliver a vision whereby they become more integral to the communities they serve. Our overarching aim in this instance is to improve the experience of all customers using the station, whilst at the same time partnering with a local business to bring new life to the station and the surrounding area. It will also create 12 new jobs and provide a boost for the local economy.”