‘I’ve looked at it through the customer’s eye...’
RESTORED PUB FOR LOCALS
A RUN-DOWN pub has reopened after a lengthy refurbishment with a touching tribute to a woman who was “the life and soul of the party”.
Piers Wheatcroft Baker welcomed the first drinkers this week to the Bath Inn, a Sneinton pub built more than 200 years ago.
The gregarious landlord, who travelled the world for 30 years as an international rose grower, decided to swap careers after Covid curtailed his business.
As soon as visitors step inside the door there’s a moving dedication to his “dear friend” Jacqui Kuhnreich, who died in January before Piers had a chance to tell her about his life-changing decision to run a pub.
A plaque “in loving memory” is fixed in the doorway above one of Jacqui’s statuettes of a glamorous woman with a tray of drinks.
Piers said: “She was one of Nottingham’s great characters. I lodged at her house in The Park for 16 years when I came back to England. She was a really lovely lady. She used to take actors in at her house. She was very well known.”
Being grounded by Covid – along with the birth of his son, Alfred, now nine months old – meant it was time for Piers, part of the famous Wheatcroft family of rose growers, to put down some roots.
The pub, in Handel Street, closed down in the first lockdown.
“I was unqualified to do anything. All I’ve done is grow roses around the world which has been wonderful but it’s specialised. I have many friends in the hospitality trade who have been very helpful.
“It was quite a run-down pub. It was half a chip shop and half a boozer. It was a gem to be discovered. A friend of mine owns the building and he threw down the gauntlet one night, saying if you want a challenge. I have been in pubs all round the world and I’m quite a gregarious fellow.”
He ignored friends’ advising against a communal table, a piano and lovely pieces of furniture.
“They look at every square inch of getting people in and extracting the most money. I lay awake at night thinking what shall I do? I thought ‘I’ll open a
It’s like Jacqui is surrounding the building with a hug Landlord Piers Wheatcroft Baker
– NOT TRENDY STRANGERS
pub that I want to go into’ and that’s what I’ve done and I think people really appreciate that. I’ve not looked at it through the businessman’s eye – I’ve looked at it through the customer’s eye.” What practical knowledge Piers lacks, his cellar man Jim Innocent makes up for, with more than 30 years’ experience. Customers can have a pint of Elsie Mo, Guinness, Neck Oil or Neon Raptor’s Night Drive Radio, brewed just round the corner at Sneinton Market’s Avenue A. Or there’s a wide selection of whiskey for every mood, taste and pocket. The Bath Inn has eccentric touches wherever you cast your eye. From the six-foot replica Tutankhamun’s tomb to the diver (named Jacqui after his friend) over the bar and Art Deco Tamara de Lempicka artwork to quirky animal photos in the alcove.
“It’s unique. It’s not following any trend or pattern. It’s our own work and ideas and it’s evolved,” said Piers.
Sparkling chandeliers that used to be Jacqui’s add a touch of old-school glamour. “If you look outside the building you can see a reflection in every window. It’s like Jacqui is surrounding the building with a hug,” added Piers.
The Egyptian artefacts are a nod to the building’s unusual Egyptian facade, which was inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.
The once-dowdy upholstery has been brought back to life and on first night many customers reminisced about their parents sitting on those very seats.
Piers said: “It couldn’t have gone any better. I just put it on Instagram. I didn’t do a grand opening because I just wanted the local people to discover it, which they did.
“There was a steady flow of people all through the evening. A really good crowd, nice and busy but not packed. It was all positive feedback. The locals appreciated that fact the pub had been done up to a standard – I think they wanted a good local pub.”
It’s drinks only for now but there are plans to serve food in the New Year.
“It will be of high quality – not overly fancy, just really good quality,” said Piers.
“I want to stress it’s a community pub.
“We don’t want to be some trendy pub where strangers come in. We really want this pub for the people of Sneinton. “It’s exactly want the area needs. “It’s a lovely space to be in. “Some buildings are special. They just have a really good vibe and feel and this is one of them.”