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| Liberation Group Invest £250,000 in Country Inn - 21st October 2009 |
The Liberation Group, the largest pub and drinks industry group in the Channels Islands, is investing £250,000 in a total refurbishment of one of its managed public houses in Jersey.
St Mary’s Country Inn will partially close next Tuesday, 27 October, and will reopen all its facilities on Friday 11 December.
The Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Crowther, said while the aim was to modernise and refresh the facilities, the historic features and charm of the former 17th century farmhouse would be respected.
‘St Mary’s Country Inn is a traditional Jersey rural pub in a beautiful location opposite the parish church, with great local character and a strong following from the parish and the wider Island community and visitors. This is a significant investment, not only in the fabric of the building, but also in the local pub business as part of our ongoing commitment to support our managers and tenants in tough times.’ he said.
The first phase will concentrate on the public bar so it can reopen in the second week of November. The lounges and dining areas will remain open while the bar is closed. When the new bar is ready - around the second week of November - the refurbishment of the lounge and dining areas will commence. During this second phase the pub will not be able to serve food.
Mr Crowther said: ‘We have invested in excess of £1 million in our properties since acquiring the business in July 2008. We shall continue our programme of refurbishing the pubs and building upon the support structure to help our tenants to be successful and move their own businesses forward.’
The work will include redecoration and replacing floor finishes throughout, investing in new seating and furniture, refurbishing the kitchen and toilets and creating feature wine walls and a wine cellar. The traditional warm welcome will be enhanced with an open vision fireplace between the lounge and conservatory dining area. A fire pit is also being installed in the al fresco area to the front of the pub.
Pub manager Steven Purcell assured regulars that while the menu would be completely overhauled, the traditional best selling favourites would be retained. New cask ales will be introduced in the bar where the pool table, darts board and television will remain, keeping the focus on good old fashioned pub games.
Mr Purcell said: ‘It will be limited business as usual while the builders are at work and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We are also open for bookings for Christmas and will reopen fully on 11 December.’ |
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