In Conversation With... Seema Dhiman, Director and Co-Founder of The Brotherhood
Today is Brother’s Day, so we thought it was a fantastic opportunity to chat to our friend and Gold Member Partner Seema Dhiman at The Brotherhood of Pursuits & Pastimes bar on New Briggate about life as a bar in Leeds, our corner of the city, and sports stories being told on our stages.
Written by Sarah Jewers
The Brotherhood of Pursuits & Pastimes
You’ve mentioned in the past that the meaning of the name ‘Brotherhood’ started as a bit of a joke but has that evolved at all?
It’s not evolved in terms of what the meaning of the name is. It was a joke in the beginning in terms of me being a woman opening a sports bar called the Brotherhood. So, it was just a bit tongue-in-cheek. But the Brotherhood itself is a sentiment for me. It was about people together, watching sports together. It wasn’t supposed to be this sexist thing or anything like that. Whether it’s cricket, football, or rugby, people who don’t even know each other come together to support their teams, and they have banter. That’s what it’s always meant to me, and still does to this day. I love when I see the regulars who never knew each other before the Brotherhood and now have become friends for 10 years. There isn’t a Saturday that I can’t walk in, the place is full, and I shake people’s hands who have been coming in over the last decade. And that’s a really nice feeling.
I know that you had a refit [last January]. How’s it been since you had that done?
It’s been great. We had to do it. It was absolutely in need of a refit. And because COVID had hit, we weren’t able to do it. So, to get it all done and evolve the brand, get the place looking like I want it to, it’s been wonderful. People have loved it coming in, and we’ve been busy through it as well because it’s a nice environment to be in. Whereas it was looking tired and it just needed that spruce, and we’ve had fun with the brand. It’s just been quite nice to focus on it again.
Seema Dhiman
Don’t get me wrong, there’s always a worry in the business, but it’s not where it was, so it’s just really nice to work with people and evolve the brand, putting some great value offerings in, and enjoying it again. That would be the truth.
And I guess, as well as the brand evolving, the food and beverage industry in general has changed since opening. If you could [go back in time and] tell yourself one thing when you opened, what do you think that would be?
Oh God. That’s a tough one. I suppose there’ll be a lot of business stuff where I’d say managing cash flows and stuff, but the truth of it is opening my bar with no real idea… not no idea because I’ve been in the trade already for 20 odd years beforehand, but having that bravery, I would say it’s quite good to be a bit naive because it makes you brave. Just go with your gut and make sure you know your area. And believe in your brand. Believe in what you do and have your key principles and values. If you keep that, you’ll always get to where you need to be. I think that’s something that I’ve always done; our key values and vision have always been the same. We always go back to it every time I feel a bit lost. Like, does this hit my values? Does this hit our vision?
Life on New Briggate
How important do you think these inter-city partnerships like ours, or even inter-neighbourhood partnerships, are in Leeds in 2025?
It’s really important. I think it’s always been important. We’ve been trying to get in [with you] for a long time, and I think we did a bit at the beginning, and then times changed. I think we used to do a lot with Opera North and the teams there, but I think after COVID, it was hard; it was all about survival then. We were just trying to find the rent, just getting by day-to-day, and what the nice feeling is now is starting to breathe again and being able to evolve the brand and start working in partnerships with people again, because it is really important. The Grand’s been there forever, and it’s so nice to work with you and all your customers – they always pop into ours as well, and it’s a nice partnership.
So apart from us, is there another favourite bar or business on New Briggate or in the close vicinity that you’d like to give a shout out to?
We’ve had Mojo down the road from us for what? Must be 28 years now. They’re still going and they’re still great operators. You’ve got Matt Jones with Roxy down Merrion Street. And I love these. These are Leeds boys who have been doing the trade for 20-odd years. And I think they deserve a shout-out. The new lads on the street, NQ64. Those guys have been great neighbours to us as well. Belgrave. I mean, I can’t say enough about the independent bar scene in Leeds. I still think it’s one of the best in the country. Everywhere you go, it’s like these big brands are swallowing up all these independents, and what’s beautiful is that these bars are still here and they’re still fighting in Leeds. Especially the Call Lane boys as well with Oporto and Neon Cactus, PCL, Jake’s Bar. I think we’re all great friends, so we all work together, we all helped each other over COVID, and to this day, we still all advise each other.
I’ve got a bar in Manchester, and I love my team in Manchester, they’re wonderful, but the bar trade in Manchester doesn’t work with each other. And it’s so different, and I find it mind-blowing because I’m thinking, gosh, why don’t they all work together, especially over COVID? They could have helped one another, but it wasn’t there. Not like it was in Leeds.
Sports on the stage
So we’ve got Dear England coming in November, which is exciting, and Through It All Together at the Playhouse is happening next month… do you think there are any sports stories that you can think of that you would think would make good stage shows?
I think there’s bloody loads! I’m a Leicester supporter… I think you could just look at Jamie Vardy’s story, going from nothing to winning the Premier League. There are boxing stories – you could do the old school Nigel Benn or Chris Eubank Sr stories, even the mental health stuff the boxers have gone through, like Tyson Fury. I think there are loads and loads of sports history stories you could do.
The cast of Dear England (2025) at the National Theatre. Credit: Marc Brenner
I think [more] sporting stories on stage would be wonderful. They’re doing more and more documentaries about it now, which people are just hooked on. We’ve put stuff on in the bars that people have asked for. I think putting these stories on stage would be wonderful.
Looking to the future
What do you think the future holds for Brotherhood and our area of Leeds?
I don’t know! Brotherhood itself – we’re going to keep evolving our brand. I’d like to open a third unit. I’d like to keep it up north, might even hit the suburbs in Leeds, but I think we will definitely be expanding. We’re going to take our time. We’ve only just gotten out of the COVID debts and everything else, and life is better, so if we can keep partnering up with people, keep working together.
I think all the money that’s been spent means it’s looking lovely out there. Briggate is looking nicer than it looked 10 years ago. I think people are taking more care of their buildings, making things look better.
The Brotherhood of Pursuits & Pastimes.
Hopefully, people will still keep coming out. As we say, it’s been tough, and I think people at home are suffering.
Brotherhood is having a lot of fun with the brand, and we’re about to launch the Sisterhood for the summer. I’m a massive advocate for women’s football and women’s sports. We’ve got the women’s Euros in Switzerland coming up at the end of June. We’ve got the women’s Rugby World Cup in the summer and the women’s cricket. We were going to do the summer of sport, but we’ve rebranded the summer to become the Sisterhood. All the branding is done, all the t-shirts. I’ve got a niece who plays football and I think it’s good that schools are doing more women’s sports, and not just netball.
