Midlands operator takes on 8th Star Pubs & Bars site

12-Aug-2019 - Last updated on 12-Aug-2019 at 12:53 GMT

Eight is great: the Pub People Company retail director Dave McKie outside the Keogh’s site before it is transformed into a Six Barrel Drafthouse

East Midlands-based the Pub People Company has taken on its eighth site with Star Pubs & Bars in Nottingham city centre.

The multiple operator’s new site Keogh’s will undergo a £258,000 joint refurbishment later this month (19 August) to transform it into its second Six Barrel Drafthouse.

The Pub People Company plans to open more Six Barrel Drafthouses in towns and cities across the East Midlands over the next three years.

The renamed venue will reopen in mid-September with 10 new jobs being created. Its new interior will aim to highlight the building’s features with exposed brick walls, steal beams, wooden floors and industrial-style lighting in a bid to create a distinctive, atmospheric urban look and feel.

Local demographics

There will also be a first-floor terrace, overlooking the city, that will have capacity for 50 alongside a new pergola at the front of the building with seating being added.

The Pub People Company operations director Andy Crawford said: “We opened our first Six Barrel Drafthouse in Hockley, Nottingham, in 2016 and it has proved very successful.

“As a result, we are keen to roll it out where the local demographics and individual pubs lend themselves to the concept.

“We’ve got a good working relationship with Star Pubs & Bars, which is flexible and responsive, so intend taking on more sites with it over the next few years."

Significant investment

He added: “Keogh’s is a prominent city centre site with two very busy bus stops nearby. The area has benefited from significant investment from other hospitality operators over the past 24 months, including Nottingham Street restaurant, which the new Keogh’s will complement.”

Star Pubs & Bars operations director Alun Johnson lauded the Pub People Company and its policy when it comes to opening new sites.

He said: “We are delighted to be working with the Pub People Company again. They are great operators and one of the longest standing pub companies in the Midlands. We know from personal experience they run a well-honed operation as they lease seven other pubs with us.

“Before taking on a new pub, they thoroughly research the immediate location and potential of the pub concerned, including running these pubs on a temporary basis. Keogh’s will be another success story for them and I wish them well with the planned roll out of Six Barrel Drafthouse.”