A mum-of-two is hoping to put the heart and soul back into a Nottinghamshire village pub which was "limping" along. The empty seats at the Cuckoo Bush saddened Jo Smith as she sat there having a drink while her daughter was working behind the bar.
Now 12 months down the line, the former Topknot hairdresser and childcare worker has stepped in to become the new landlady at the Gotham pub, helped by her soon-to-be husband Richard James. Jo's daughters Molly, 20, and Rosie, 18, are also working there when they're not at university and college.
Jo, who previously lived in the village for 20 years and ran the Rainbows and Brownie groups, said: "We were sat there on a Saturday afternoon and it was empty. I said to Richard you have no idea what this pub used to be. It was so sad seeing it empty. It had lost its soul.
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"As the children grew up, when I was living in the village, we were here all the time. It it was a birthday we'd come here, if we were going out for a drink we'd come here, if we were having a meeting we'd come here. We had book club here and committee meetings here. It was the heart of the village and so busy all of the time."
The couple said it must have been hard for the temporary tenant, who was already running a pub in the village and drafted in to help man it after the previous licensees left. Jo and Richard, who had been trying to get the pub for a year, realised their dream earlier this month.
Even though Jo, 48, and salesman Richard, 53, have never run a pub before they've had support from family members in the industry who know the drill. They have big plans to revive the flagging pub in Leake Road, the main road through the village
Four cask ales - currently Pedigree, Landlord, Citra and Rev James - are behind the bar while Molly's barista skills will be put to good use once a fancy new coffee machine has been installed. Monthly themed discos, quiz nights, live music and open mic nights are also in the pipeline. This week they brought back Play Your Cards Right. Richard said: "It used to be a big thing on quiz night years ago. We brought it back as a bit of fun to raise a bit of money for charity. There was laughing and joking, the oohs and aahs."
Traditional home-cooked pub food will be served, starting on July 29. "It will be simple, good quality and a good price" said Jo. Saturday breakfasts will be served, from a full English to cobs and pancakes, and Sunday will be the day for roast dinners.
Lunch, from 11.30am to 2pm, will be on offer from Monday to Saturday. Pub-goers will be able to choose from sandwiches, salads, jacket potatoes and soup. Evenings will be themed. Wednesday is pie night, Thursday's all about basket meals, and Fridays will alternate between Italian, curry and steak nights. Whatever the time of day, there's alternative 'Slimmers' Choice' sections with low-fat, healthier versions.
The old-fashioned pub boasts a lounge, darts room and a snug with a fireplace for cosy winter evenings. For warm summer nights there's picnic style tables and parasols in the beer garden at the back.
Dating back to 1858, one of the walls of the pub is dedicated to the story of the Wise Men of Gotham. The fable goes that in the 13th century the locals feigned madness in order to avoid a royal highway being built through the village. At the time madness was thought to be highly contagious and when King John's knights saw the villagers' insane behaviour, the plans were withdrawn.
One of the mad deeds seen by the knights was a group fencing off a small tree in order to keep a cuckoo captive from the Sheriff of Nottingham. As there was no roof, the bird flew away. And that's how the pub got its name.
Jo said: "It's a proper pub, that's why I love it. I love the olde worlde feel of it. I know what I want it to be like. I want it to be like it was. Fun, lively, good food. I want people to say 'shall we go for some tea at the Cuckoo'. I want it to be the place to be again."
Richard added: "Jo will be the face of the pub because everybody knows her. We want to promote it as a community village pub. To get things back on track there has to be an investment. You have to invest in promotions, you have to invest your time.
"Covid obviously killed a lot of trade and there has been a downward trend in pubs because of alcohol being so easily available. It's what you make of a pub. People don't want to just sit at home and drink - they want the social thing especially in a village like this."
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