Heineken plans to invest £2.3m to improve 10 of its pubs in region
HEINEKEN UK has earmarked £2.3m to improve 10 of its pubs in and around Yorkshire.
Money is to be invested into the Buccaneer in Brough, the Grandale in Hull, the Green Tree in Messingham, North Linconshire, the Mist in Scarborough and the Blacksmith Arms in Rothwell. There will also be improvements and recruitment drives at the Woodlands in Harrogate, Gibsons in York, and the Duke of York at Gate Helmsley.
And a £387,000 investment in The Wharfedale, a former coaching inn, would see the interior and exterior upgraded and the pub repositioned as a dining destination with 150 covers, letting rooms, a large beer garden and car park. There is also scope for further development of the coach house later.
Gibsons is one of the first bars at the top of Micklegate, a prime high street position on the York circuit. The planned £280,000 refurbishment would see the pub modernised and given a makeover with exposed brickwork, comfortable seating and a brighter improved back bar.
Outside, a hidden courtyard space, a rarity in York, will be enhanced to ensure maximum use by tourists, locals, and students.
Lawson Mountstevens, Managing Director, Star Pubs & Bars, which is part of Heineken, said: “People have stayed closer to home over the last two years due to the pandemic and turned to their local for the kind of experience they’d previously have travelled to a city centre, restaurant or bar to find. They don’t want to turn back time; they expect better quality including food and speciality drinks – such as cocktails – that are harder to recreate at home.
“It’s the same with gardens. Sitting outside at the pub has become a new occasion and, if the outside space is good enough, customers will wrap up to enjoy it even in the winter months.
“Outdoor facilities also remain important for those who are still cautious about going out.
“We are confident that well invested pubs that adapt to market changes will have a bright, long-term future.”
Sitting outside at the pub has become a new occasion.
Lawson Mountstevens, Managing Director, Star Pubs & Bars.