Gloucesterhire's first high fidelity listening lounge is opening in Cheltenham this July 2025 — and SoGlos was invited along to take a sneak peek before the doors officially open.
Located on Clarence Street, in what was previously Pyesta, Parler is a collaborative project from DEYA Brewery, FOUR CATS and La Boulangerie Artisan.
Blending vintage Parisian cafe culture, classic cocktail and wine bar ambience, with an urban taproom edge, Parler also has a focus on analogue music, aiming to create a stylish and sociable space for those who love good music, specialty coffee, quality cocktails, natural wines and fresh craft beer.
The venue is inspired by listening bars — also known as vinyl
lounges — which have their roots in post-war Japan, where the concept first took shape in
the 1950s.
Known as 'jazz kissa', short for jazz kissaten or coffee shop, these intimate, dimly lit spaces offered an escape from the bustle of the city, inviting guests to sit quietly, sip coffee or whiskey and immerse themselves in high-fidelity sound.
Fast forward to today and
the spirit of the listening bar has been reimagined and exported across the
globe, from Tokyo to Brooklyn, London, Berlin and now, Cheltenham.
With design high on Parler's agenda, the interiors feature authentic mid-century modernist decor, street art murals mingling with tropical leafed plants and bespoke, vintage styled cabinetry housing a high-grade, specially sourced vinyl sound system.
Showcasing work from the town's talented creatives, cups and tableware have been thrown by ceramicist Megan Burridge; and the bespoke
cabinetry has been crafted by a coalition of local creators and carpenters: Tobgam, Barebones and Sam and Rob from Property Creations.
The sound system has been developed with analogue expert Colin Crawford; with mural art and sign writing produced by street artists Phil Blake and Dawn Evans respectively.
On the menu, Parler brings together some of Cheltenham's most-loved independent food and drinks brands, with organic pastries and small bites from La Boulangerie Artisan and cocktails from FOUR CATS, with a micro taproom from craft beer pioneers DEYA.
Plus, from further afield, Hackney based importer The Modest Merchant has curated an eco-conscious wine offering; with single estate coffee sourced from specialty roastery Elsewhere Coffee in Deptford.
Providing a nostalgic, yet contemporary and progressive selection of music, Parler offers a carefully curated listening experience for audiophiles, spinning jazz, funk, soul, folk, blues and world music on the turntables.
With a variety of DJ's and selectors taking to the decks to shape the atmosphere, the venue will also host a
roster of mini-residencies, the first of which is Bristol-based
collective, More Soup DJs, playing deep cuts, forgotten soul, ambient jazz and
genre-bending blends you won’t find on standard streaming playlists.
Parler officially opens to the public on Monday 28 July 2025.
