The future of a flagging Beeston pub is looking rosier after Shipstone's and the Reunion Pub Company stepped in to save it. The Malt Shovel, in Union Street, has had a stormy ride over the last two years.
It started when the previous tenants left after a pub company decided not to renew the lease in February 2021. Increased competition in the town and Covid hit trade.
The pub was taken over by Star Pubs & Bars and reopened in June 2021 with new licensees. Michael Gratton and Ronnie Guest, who also run the Commercial Inn in the town, gave the Malt Shovel a major makeover with a new bar, wallpaper, carpets, curtains and contemporary light fittings to make it more appealing to drinkers.
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However, the duo quit in October 2022. Because of rising energy bills and the cost of living crisis, they couldn't make the business pay and decided to put all their energies into running their other, profitable pubs, including the White Lion in Bramcote.
After their departure, the pub shut and a metal security door was installed at the entrance. It remained that way for around a month until Richard Neale, one of the brains behind Little Star Brewery, which brews Shipstone's ales in Old Basford, and Nick Dunleavy, operation director of the Reunion Pub Company, stepped in.
Mr Neale said: "I think it's a tough nut to crack. It came about that we spotted it was shutting up shop and the old tenants were moving out. We already had a relationship with the pub company so we gave them a call and found out the availability of it.
"It was looking pretty bleak for the pub actually. No one wanted to come in and take it on. Because it's such a great old Shipstone's pub we have signed a deal to keep it ticking over with the intention of putting some investment into it next year.
"The Malt Shovel and relevance of that with the Beeston Maltings which was obviously the Shipstone's Maltings - we've lost that - we wanted to preserve another former Shipstone's pub that has come up. It's a great backstreet boozer. We've put all our range of cask ales in already and we have got the kitchen back open."
The first Sunday roasts were served at the weekend and Mr Neale said: "They went down a treat."
One of the biggest hurdles is getting the news out there that the Malt Shovel is open for business. Since it's on a side street, off High Road, it's often overlooked in favour of more visible pubs in the town.
Mr Neale added: "It needs the support of the local community more than anything. The guys did a great job of putting a refurb in and it looks great so there is not much cosmetics-wise that needs to go into it. It just needs a little bit of targeting to the right consumer. Turning it into more of a cask ale pub and taking it back to its heritage will work, but it needs the support of Beeston.
"We have got to do what we do well and that's work with the community, work with the homes nearby, work with people who want to come out for lunch on a decent deal, with a pie and a pint of cask ale, so it's the Reunion Pub Company whole theory of reuniting the pubs with the community, reuniting friends with each other, colleagues with each other.
"I don't think it got going post Covid and it needed that community social environment where you can relax and have it as your backstreet local. I don't think it would have opened this side of Christmas if we hadn't stepped in. There was no one queuing up to take it on with the numbers. I think the likelihood of some other tenants going in for the next six months to a year was very bleak.
"We took it on knowing it was probably going to be boarded up for quite some time. I don't think it would have reopened if I'm honest."
The pub is free of tie on cask ale and is serving popular Shipstone's beers including Original, IPA and Goldstar Pale Ale. "Being free of tie makes a massive difference," said Mr Neale.
In July the Reunion Pub Company and Shipstone's stepped in to help the struggling Johnson Arms in Dunkirk and in October rescued the Four Bells in Woodborough from a potential long-term closure.
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