Down at The Butcher’s Pencil, you’re not just friends – you’re family
COMMUNITY-SPIRITED PUB HAS BEEN VOTED BEST BY POST READERS
CONSTERNATION when plans were revealed to open a micro pub in Bestwood is long-forgotten. Three years on, locals have really taken the Butcher’s Pencil to their hearts.
The former butcher’s shop isn’t just a drinking hole, it’s a thriving community-spirted hub, full of banter, looking out for the elderly and anyone in need, and raising thousands for charity – not to mention crisp sarnie Sundays.
There’s so much love for the tiny pub it’s no surprise that Post readers voted it the best in our recent poll.
The Butcher’s Pencil doesn’t have just one owner – there’s a group of 23 who have a stake in it. Jeff and Tarnya Cokkinos are among them.
Jeff, who was born a few doors down in Beckhampton Road and grew up on the estate, said residents were concerned before the pub opened.
“There were lots of people thinking it was going to be a new drugs den, and anti-social behaviour and so on. Hopefully, over the three years we have been open now we are winning them round and some of the people who weren’t overly happy about us getting this place are actually coming in and are locals now.
“We’ve had a better uptake on trade than we thought. People in the area seemed to have bought into the idea of what we are, not what they thought it was going to be.”
The Butcher’s Pencil was opened to replace the former leisure centre and social club at Nottingham City Hospital where workers used to meet to play squash, snooker and tennis and have a drink. It closed during the pandemic, in September 2020, after it was deemed unviable. After nearly 50 years, the club – believed to be the last in the country – was demolished in March 2022.
Jeff, the club’s chairman, said members still wanted somewhere they could meet. An empty shop, a former hair salon and tattoo studio after the long-standing butchers closed down, seemed the ideal location.
He said: “We knew this shop was available and council-owned so we approached the local councillors to see if they had any objections because it was a residential area.
“There was a bit of apathy because of the troubles the estate has had in the past, but they came in and had a chat and were quite pleased with what we were proposing.”
Tarnya, who admitted she was worried in the beginning, said: “I was really nervous about making it work. We had gone through some rough times during Covid at the leisure centre with all the rules and social distancing. When we were setting this up, it was other people’s investments.”
The money paid for the shop to be gutted, rewired and licensed. Many local tradesman, among them electricians, plasters and plumbers, did the work for free, just charging for materials, ready for the Butcher’s Pencil to open its doors on May 17, 2021. It is decked out with butcher’s “cuts of meat” artwork as a nod to the past. The rest is quite personal.
Dave Sykes, who together with Jeff’s brother Gavin, project managed the venture, died a year ago. His photo is on the wall next to the bar and there’s a sign dedicated to “Dave’s naughty corner”.
There’s also a photo of a muchloved character called T-pot, who passed away last year – he earned the nickname because as a child he used to wear a tea cosy as a hat.
The clock on the wall was bought by Joan, who is 94. Tarnya said: “The first day we opened she came in and was upset we didn’t have a clock so she went and bought us one. If she can’t open a tin or a bottle she pops down and one of us always takes her back home.”
A jigsaw of Nottingham Forest’s City Ground hangs on the wall, along with handwritten letters from Brian Clough to the club’s former bus driver Dave Chapman.
The pub belongs to two Whatsapp groups and if anyone needs any shopping someone will oblige.
“When staff know someone who lives on their own and doesn’t cook they’ll drop dinners off. We want to be part of the community so our motto is the Butcher’s family. You’re not just friends you’re family.”
The pub doesn’t have a kitchen so they buy in chips for the customers on Saturday nights and instead of a roast dinner the following day it’s Crisp Sarnie Sunday. Staff member Colleen Moon often brings in apple crumble and cakes she’s baked for everyone to enjoy.
Comfortably fitting in 40 punters, Jeff said: “Because we’re small it’s hard to hide. Even if you walk in on your own people will talk to you, it’s got a nice connection with people.”
The couple’s daughter Melissa, a schoolteacher, added: “Women are comfortable to come in on their own. My women friends will just pop in whereas sometimes it feels uncomfortable in other places. You just slot in and you can talk to anybody.”
Since opening, the Butcher’s Pencil has raised more than £7,500 for a diverse range of charities - dementia, British Heart Foundation, dog rescue, a young mum with stage four breast cancer and T-pot’s family are just some of the good causes.
Pete Madon, who works as transport team leader at City Hospital, provides the entertainment in the shapes of quizzes, bingo and games such as Play Your Cards Right. He shaved his head for a fundraiser. “I went bald for Ukraine,” he said, as Steve Campion, who helps to run the pub, chipped in: “He says it was for Ukraine... it’s just old age.” That’s the kind of banter you can expect and there’s lots of it but Tarnya said: “No one takes anything personally.” Steve said: “Our customers are from 99 to 18. That 99-yearold will get on with the 18-year-old. We have a good clientele who are our bread and butter. It’s the same faces, people we can rely on.”
The cheapest pint is their own branded Butcher’s Brew at £3.40 a pint. You’ll also find a real ale or two – currently Lenton Lane’s bitter, Major Oat.
The Butcher’s Pencil is open seven days a week but closes at 8pm Monday to Thursday, and 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, out of respect for the neighbours. “We have a door entry system after 6pm. We like them to become members, a free membership, so we know who they are and that helps with making people feel safe.”
Even if you walk in on your own people will talk to you - it’s got a nice connection with people. Jeff Cokkinos