Ex-customer takes over venue he used to manage – with £4,000 revamp as venue returns to city’s Hartshill Mile pub crawl CALLED TO THE BAR!
FORMER pub customer Jack Burgess has become the city’s newest landlord by taking charge of the venue he used to manage.
The 27-year-old drank at Hartshill’s Robin Hood before moving behind the bar to run it for two years.
Now Jack, of Wolstanton, is in charge, having taken on the Hartshill Road pub with partner Jo Diskin. The new team has also overseen a refurbishment costing £4,000.
Jack previously managed the pub, working six-days-a-week and living upstairs. Now, though, he works for himself rather than someone else.
The reopening also means the Hartshill Mile now has one of its venues back. The crawl sees beer lovers visit pubs from one end of Hartshill Road to the other.
It’s a familiar venue to Jack, who met previous owner Adam Woolliscroft when he was a customer.
He said: “I started drinking in his pub and we got on with each other like a house on fire. I ended up in there more often than not in the evenings and seeing my friends.”
But there was no time for pints when Jack got to work on making his mark on the pub. The building was without electricity during most of the work and Jack sanded down all the wood, including the bar, by hand.
He said: “My hands are very soft now! I’ve had a lot of help from my family and even locals helped get certain bits and bobs ready.
“The whole place was a horrible colour of burgundy, brown and red. Everything wooden has been sanded back and painted. It was just to try and brighten the place up.”
The pub is offering a quiz on Thursdays, live music on Fridays and occasional Saturdays - and Jack hopes to bring in a games night.
He has also done a lot of work on the cellar. He said: “Cask ale is one thing I’m quite proud of. I’m meticulous about the cleanliness of the lines and the quality of the beer.
“The customers have seen me over the last couple of years working really hard and they’ve said how proud they are to see me doing it for myself. It means a lot.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone - as many heads as we can get into the building! We just want to be accommodating and make sure everyone has a great time.”