New life will be breathed into a pub that has been closed for several years. The White Lion in Beeston has fallen into disrepair and at one time metal shutters went up at the windows.
But soon, pints will be poured once again after a takeover by a Nottinghamshire-based company known for its award-winning cask ales. Lincoln Green Brewing Company will be running the pub on the corner of Middle Street and Station Road.
Following a facelift, the pub will reopen its doors in July. It will be run as a joint venture by owners Star Pubs & Bars and the Hucknall-based brewery. It's the second recent acquisition for Lincoln Green, which took over the operation of the Mill & Brook pub in Long Eaton earlier this year.
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As well as cask ales, food will be served. The drinking area will have a traditional feel while the restaurant part, called the Blackshale Bar & Kitchen, will be modern and vibrant. Blackshale is the name of a coal seam that runs beneath the brewery which lends its name to a range of premium craft beers.
Brewery founder Anthony Hughes said: "The joint investment we're putting into it is over £500,000, which gives you some understanding of just how much work is going to be involved. The reason we're keen on it is because of its size and the intention is to split it into two.
"The front third of the pub will be very much a traditional cask-led Lincoln Green-style pub and the remaining two thirds will be a very modern, contemporary dining experience where we will be matching beer with food, particularly showing off our new ranges of craft beers as well.
"Imagine an explorer menu where you will have a starter, a main and a dessert, each would come with a glass of beer and a glass of wine, perfectly matched with each course. At the end of each course, the server will ask you which you preferred, whether it was the wine or the beer.
"We believe that in many cases beer is actually a better match for food than wine is and we're trying to encourage people to try beer as a pairing with food."
The Art Deco pub, which belonged to Home Ales in the 1930s, became an Asset of Community Value in 2016 following a community-backed nomination supported by the Nottingham branch of CAMRA. For a time it served Portuguese and Brazilian tapas, but closed down in 2019 and was boarded up.
New licensees took over promising live music and karaoke, just weeks before the pandemic hit the UK and the first lockdown in March 2020.
The 12-week refurbishment is set to start the week after next. Mr Hughes said: "The site has been neglected for many years and it is receiving a full makeover internally and externally.
"I think it will genuinely be really nice for the people of Beeston to have that pub restored to a decent condition because it's been such a sorry state for a long time - it's probably been a bit of a blot on the landscape. We are going to completely transform that."
Lincoln Green also runs the Sir John Borlase Warren in Nottingham, the Robin Hood (and) Little John, Arnold, the Station Hotel in Hucknall and the Brickyard in Carlton, which serve a core range of beers, themed around Robin Hood. They include pale ale Marion, a premium best bitter Hood, an American pale ale Archer, and Tuck, a porter. Specials, occasional and the Blackshale range are others to look out for.
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