A village pub has been rescued from a potential long-term closure after Shipstone's and the Reunion Pub Company stepped in. The Four Bells Inn, in Woodborough, had a turbulent time during the pandemic and a spark of hope from a new landlady was short-lived when she threw the towel in after six months.
The mock Tudor pub, in Main Street, closed at the end of September. However, this week the doors opened once again. It marks the second pub for the locally-owned pub company, which took over the Johnson Arms in Dunkirk in July.
Operations director Nick Dunleavy said: "It's been closed for three weeks. Like the Jono it's just such a beautiful historic pub set in an amazing village and it would have been a shame to see it closed again. The brewery gave us a ring and asked us if we wanted to do it and we said what's going to happen otherwise and it wasn't good so we thought right let's give it a go.
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"We jumped in as quickly as we could to get it reopened - and it reopened for a soft opening on Monday. The pub has struggled a bit in the past but the community is so supportive towards it, so fingers crossed that they will come out in their droves.
"I hope there will be a bit more stability now. You can't guarantee anything nowadays with the cost of living crisis going on and utility bills going through the roof but I think if we can take it back to being a good community pub focussed on serving cracking real ales again - we have increased the real ale range - then I think it will give it its best shot.
"Going into tough times I think people will want something a bit more local to themselves and not want to travel out, so having these community pubs in the village is important to them."
The pub will be drinks only until after the kitchen has had a commercial clean and then food will be back on the menu. Regulars will notice the decor has been freshened and the lighting changed to make it brighter.
Adam Lambourne, who until recently ran the Reindeer in Hoveringham, has been appointed general manager. He said: "The Four Bells is ideal. It's a lovely village. We've got a lovely log burner, it's nice and cosy. It's too good to be closed, for sure."
He said the focus will be on great service. "There are so many places you go into where you don't even get a 'hello'. You think hang on a minute you're charging X, Y and Z for a gin and tonic.
"Meeting and greeting, making sure people are having a good time, the ambience and music, the temperature and the quality of the staff is at the forefront of what we want to do, especially while the kitchen isn't up and running, to win back that customer base that, for lack of a better term, boycotted the pub somewhat."
The cask ales are predominantly Shipstone's at the moment, brewed by microbrewery Little Star Brewery at the rear of a former Shippo's pub, the Fox & Crown, in Old Basford. The award-winning team of "four mad passionate artisanal brewers" use original recipes found in the archives with quality English ingredients.
There will be guest ales moving forward, along with a large selection of gins and coffee with free refills for anyone who wants to sit with their laptop and work form the pub. Quiz nights, live music and events throughout the year are in the pipeline..
"Everyone we've met has commented how nice it is to have the pub open again and to be greeted with a smile. The feedback has been keep doing what we're doing and we'll do very well here," added Adam.
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