the new publicans of the Soar Bridge Inn
The plan worked: Amie and Rob left the Soar Bridge Inn on Tuesday 17th January and Lucy (Shooter) and Darren (Moss) moved in. This dynamic couple didn’t let the grass grow under their feet: the pub opened the same day and three days later, they threw a wonderful Welcome Party complete with a live band. Customers, old and new, flocked in and loved it. They agreed that it was a very good start to the re-opening of the Soar Bridge Inn.
Lucy and Darren both have families in the pub world and even though Lucy has been working as a school business manager and Darren as a sales director, they are no strangers to the industry. As Lucy told me, they are both “people people” and love chatting to their customers.
I went to see them a week later and they already seemed well “bedded in”. We mostly talked about their future plans. The new chef will have started work by the middle of February and will initially aim at traditional pub food. However, I pricked my ears to learn that he has wider culinary skills, being an expert in French and Mediterranean cooking. Let’s hope he gets the opportunity to share that with his customers.
Lucy and Darren plan to reopen the Function Room for a Sunday carvery and to re-establish weekly Specials evenings. The Function Room is already used as a skittle alley on most nights with several leagues using their facilities. They hope to re-establish the pub as a good venue for darts and generally aim for it to be a village hub for pub games and activities including pétanque. The Thursday quiz will definitely be continued because it is now so popular that you have to pre-book a table. And expect to enjoy acoustic music evenings in the bar.
Hopefully, by Barrow Voice publication time, the building will have had a bit of a facelift, although probably nothing dramatic. That is in keeping with the target of maintaining and developing the Soar Bridge as a truly village pub with traditional food and traditional pub activities.
We wish them every success in their ambition.
Judith Rodgers