Published Wednesday 11 June 2025 at 15:53
The Rock Box in Blackburn town centre has re-opened and there’s a familiar face back behind the bar.
Karen Joss and her husband Andy first launched the Rock Box in 2018, running it together for five years.
Sadly, they had to step back in 2023 due to medical reasons, but on hearing the popular bar had closed last month, they’re now back at the helm.
Such was the sense of feeling when the doors closed in May, that an online petition was launched to help save it.
And given the outpouring of support, Karen says she’s looking forward to seeing old friends and new faces coming through the doors.
She added:
We first launched the Rock Box back in 2018 and absolutely loved running it.
Sadly, I had health issues, and we had to give the bar up, but hearing that it had closed, we knew we had to do something. We couldn’t just let it go.
Blackburn with Darwen Council has supported the pair in the re-opening of the bar in King William Street.
Karen said:
We’re going right back to the beginning – focusing on our roots of offering a true rock and blues bar.
Already we’ve had lots of familiar faces come to see us and our first weekend back has gone really well, we’re looking forward to building on that in the coming months.
As part of the council’s drive to support the nighttime economy in Blackburn town centre, the Blackburn Gigs initiative has also been extended over the summer.
The scheme brings live music to venues across the town centre, with the original pilot including the likes of The Drummer’s Arms, which neighbours The Rock Box, and the popular Firepit restaurant in Cathedral Quarter.
As part of wider cultural investment, the likes of King George’s Hall, The Exchange and Tony’s Ballroom are all also benefitting, including from a share of £20m of new government funding successfully secured by the council.
Councillor Quesir Mahmood, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
As soon as we were told that The Rock Box was closing, we quickly started to look at ways we could help save it.
Karen and Andy were keen to take the bar back on and we’ve supported them in getting re-opened and in just a few short weeks too.
We’d like to wish them all the very best for their future there – it’s good to see The Rock Box rocking on once again!
Councillor Mahmood added:
Of course, it’s no secret that pubs and bars up and down the country are struggling and so our venues do need the support of our residents to be able to thrive.
As a Council, we are doing everything we can within our powers and with the limited budgets we have to help support our town centres and the businesses we have here.
Both Blackburn and Darwen are seeing major investment, including in our popular cultural venues.
However, there really is only so much we can do as a local authority, and it needs our communities to help rally round – supporting businesses like The Rock Box where they can.
The Rock Box is open Monday to Thursday 12 noon to 8pm, Friday and Saturdays 12 noon to 11pm and Sundays 12noon to 8pm. There’s also extended hours on a Thursday evening when the pool team is at home.
You can find a full guide to what’s on across Blackburn town centre on the new Discover Blackburn website.
There’s also guides about places to go, places to eat and places to drink – perfect for planning a night out.
You can also keep up with the latest from across the town centre by following Discover Blackburn on Facebook, Insta and Tik Tok.