ASHLEY’S OPENING A NEW BEEROPOLIS
LANDLORD OPENING HIS OWN BUSINESS IN FORMER BAR WILL BE SELLING ‘BEERS YOU CAN’T GET IN OTHER PUBS’
A BURTON micropub is set to be reopened with a different name as a new landlord gets ready to throw open the doors once Covid restrictions are lifted.
Ashley Ayling is taking over the lease for the building which housed the former Fuggle and Nugget micropub, in High Street, and will be opening his own business.
And his new micropub will be a nod to Burton’s brewing past with its new name of Beeropolis, the word that Victorians used to describe the town famous for its breweries, the new owner said.
The 30-year-old, who is currently an engineer on the railway by day, said: “I’ve always had an interest in beer and I’m a partner at Bodells in Swadlincote, so this is like a second venture for me.
“It was one of the first micropubs in Burton, so when the opportunity for the lease came up I was keen to keep the venue going. It’s going to be fully refurbished with the view to open as soon as possible.
“I’m excited about it. Some people think I’m mad to open a pub at this time but I’m confident things will get back to normal and when the opportunity came up to take on the venue I bit the bullet and thought why not?
“That end of town needs something as well as there’s the Burton Brewery and then a gap to get into the town centre which the Fuggle and Nugget used to fill.
“There’s lots of nice restaurants down there as well.”
The micropub will have 16 beers on tap as well as wines, gins, ciders, lagers and spirits to cater for everyone’s tastes. At any one time it will have four real ales available and 12 craft beers. The pub will have a Victorian theme with lots of memorabilia and pictures of Victorian Burton with artefacts sourced from collectors, historians and the library.
Mr Ayling, who has lived in Burton all of his life, said: “The main focus will be beers but it will cater for everyone.
“It all depends on the tier on when I open. I’ll probably have to have bookings for the first week. “It’s going to be real ales and craft beers that you cannot get in other pubs and I’m using a lot of local breweries with real ale from across Staffordshire and Derbyshire. “It will be a place for people to come in and have a chat to each other with a friendly atmosphere. There will be no music.
“I’m looking at doing quiz nights and things like that.”