Pub Awards: Best Turnaround finalist - The Hastings, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland

The Star Pubs & Bars leasehold was flagging, thanks to the previous licensee’s poor health, and takings had fallen.

After proving themselves as pub operators, Star’s confidence in them and their hard work and vision was expressed in a major investment by the pub company. Weekly turnover has continued to soar as the pub’s food reputation spreads.

The licensees were keen that the expansion of the food offering would not put off the pub’s existing loyal drinkers.

They also introduced a wider, more premium range of drinks that now include four cask beers and seven different gins.

Menu

Food is all freshly prepared and ranges from traditional pub mainstays to the unusual, such as the popular crab and lobster burger. The Hastings’ chef has also created a unique Geordie Tappaz menu, a choice of small-plate regional delicacies that has put the pub on the map. 

The Hastings hosts bands every Friday night, plus live duos on Sundays, and has opened a function room upstairs.

As well as social media, the pub communicates with customers through its own smartphone app, incorporating a loyalty scheme, and cements its relationship with the community through its Daft as a Brush charity programme.