Cunning operators open Snooty Fox for third site

The Snooty Fox at Lowick, near Thrapston, is a private leasehold that has been opened by owners Richard Gordon and Sonya Harvey.

The pub was due to open in two years ago but was delayed due to the challenges of the pandemic. It features a 50-cover restaurant and 60-seat bar area, with the bar featuring a nine pump beer wall, offering world beers.

Further openings planned

Gordon and Harvey also run the Red Lion at Cranford, a Punch lease that opened five years ago, and private leasehold the Pig & Waffle in Grafton Underwood, which opened last June. The pair also have plans to open further pubs in Northamptonshire.

The Snooty Fox’s food offer focuses on dry-aged steaks and fresh seafood, including oysters and native lobsters, with the pub having a lobster tank in its kitchen. It is also serving a chicken kyiv (kiev), which has been renamed by many pubs and restaurants around the globe as part of a ‘Kievs 4 Kyiv’ initiative in support of Ukraine. For every chicken kyiv sold at the pub, £2 is being donated to The British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

Didn’t qualify for Covid-19 grants

Gordon, who has worked in the hospitality industry for 36 years, including in food development for McManus Pub Company and as an area manager for Northamptonshire Inns, said: “We are delighted to finally open the Snooty Fox. It has been a big challenge because as the pub was due to open in April 2020, but hadn’t started trading, we didn’t qualify for any Covid-19 grants and the industry recruitment crisis has also had a huge impact on getting enough team members to open so it feels a massive achievement to be trading at last.”

The bar features ales from local breweries Phipps of Northampton and Pot Belly Brewery in Kettering, while the beer wall features Belgian beers from Vedett, Duvel and De Koninck.