Wizard continues £3m quest to fill pubs void
by MA Reporter Wizard Inns has continued its policy of opening outlets in under-pubbed towns with a new site Cromwells Bar Café in thecentre of Huntingdon. A £630,000 conversion saw a former run-down shop site and listed building transformed into a high-quality contemporary venue. The Huntingdon project is part of a £3m spend by Wizard on several developments this summer. "Most of our work this year, as in 2002, has been done in smaller towns, not in the A-grade towns and cities where so much over-development takes place," said Wizard Inns' managing director Chris Hutt. "Towns such as Huntingdon, Hitchin and Winchester are not over-developed and offer us abetter return on investment," he continued. "We have also recently opened a major new development in Tolworth another area which we regard as being under-licensed." Cromwells offers table service for food and drinks a trademark of the Wizard approach. The café bar has been so busy since it opened that a planned week of special events, including tastings, was abandoned by manager Ian Robinson and assistant manager Gemma Saunders. The management pair joined Wizard from Yates's Wine Lodges in Barnsley and Walsall respectively. Robinson has been involved in a number of openings, but has seen nothing like the initial demand at Cromwells. "It's absolutely fantastic," said Saunders. "Business is booming so much, we haven't had time to try any of the events or ideas we have. "People come in and say they can't believe they're in Hunting-don! This is a traditional market town, where most pubs stop serving food at 6pm. We start the food at 11am and go on until 9pm, Monday to Wednesday, and 7pm Thursday to Sunday. "We're considering extending those hours to meet the demand. People come in, and if there's no table available, they are prepared to wait. We've never known that before, and it's all happening with virtually no advertising." Cromwells is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
