A new independent music venue, bar and kitchen has officially opened its doors in Swansea's High Street.
The Jam Jar, owned and directed by Sin City owner Gary Lulham, is offering free, unticketed live music, comedy and quiz nights.
It also serves cocktails and will have a monthly street food vendor - starting with Chang's Street Food Kitchen.
Read more: One of Swansea's scruffiest most crime-ridden streets is brick by brick becoming one of its smartest
As a live music venue, Gary's Sin City nightclub has hosted huge acts from Wolf Alice to Pete Doherty, and it has a loyal customer base of students who attend Sin Savers on a Thursday night with a near religious conviction. The Jam Jar, however, is a different vibe altogether. You can read more stories about Swansea City Centre here .
Gary said: "The Jam Jar targets a different demographic than Sin City, which is more rock and roll, drum and bass and punk. The Jam Jar is more about jazz, blues, Motown, soul, that sort of thing, catering more toward the 25+ demographic. With that being said, everybody is welcome here."
Tara Golding, assistant manager of The Jam Jar, added: "We're a jazzy, bluesy-themed bar, and we're all about people coming in, having some good cocktails, some good food and a night of good entertainment."
The bar was formerly home to The Hyst - a much loved High Street venue. Tara pointed out that while The Hyst was enjoyed by locals, it was mainly private hire which meant that more often than not, people couldn't just walk in.
She said: "At The Jam Jar, we're aiming to be the total opposite of a private hire - our doors are open for people to come and go as they please, really. We never charge for entertainment, and we don't have a door charge either. Our goal is to be open to everyone, and to have something for everyone."
The Jam Jar currently has entertainment on four nights of the week, including open mic, live music, comedy night and a Sunday night quiz.
Tara said: "Fridays are for live music, and we always make sure that we have something different for it - sometimes it'll be a live pianist, other times a jazz band, a blues band, or classical musicians. We welcome everybody from the professionals to young people who are still learning their craft and passion, and most of them are local artists."
She added: "Wednesdays will be open jam sessions, so anybody can come in and bring their instruments or notepads and use the stage - whether it's music, comedy, spoken word. It's free of charge, you just have to rock up."
Something that sets The Jam Jar aside from other local venues is its Saturday night comedy night.
Tara said: "There aren't any other places in Swansea that offer comedy on a Saturday night - they tend to be on a random day like Tuesday, so we are hoping to fill in that gap a bit. We did our first one last week which had an incredible turnout."
The Jam Jar isn't just for music and cocktail enthusiasts, either.
Gary said: "You haven't got to be interested in music to come here - if you're just after a quiet drink in a comfortable environment, then you're welcome here. Similarly, if you're looking for a coffee and a place to work or a bite to eat, then our doors are open. We have a different street food vendor each month, which will also be available to order online, too."
He added: "Looking forward we are looking to see how we can get better use of the space here and how we can get better involved with the local community. We are looking to other local businesses like Hoogah, who do that particularly well."
Swansea's High Street has earned itself something of a bad reputation over the years, so the influx of new independent businesses such as The Jam Jar will be seen as positive news for the area.
Gary said: "The High Street is definitely having a bit of a resurgence. There's a lot more businesses coming down this way, a lot of investment promised for it. It's the main route between the train station and the new arena, so we are hoping that will bring in a lot of foot traffic. There are the new student accommodation blocks, too, which has really increased general presence in the area."
Gary added: "I like going to cities where everything is a little bit spread out, rather than all congested into one area. I think Wind Street is great, and I love the businesses there, but it does seem quite concentrated and that we could do with spreading the city's wings a bit."
The Jam Jar name is something that's been floating around in Gary's head since he was 18.
"When I was working in Time & Envy in 2002, my boss at the time asked me, if you ever buy a bar, what are you going to call it? So I said The Jam Jar - somewhere where you can have a jam, and have a couple of jars. And here we are."
"We do serve a little jammy dodger with our coffees, though, to homage the name."
To get the latest email updates from WalesOnline click here.
