There was sadness in my old neighbourhood of Finsbury Park when the Nicholas Nickleby pub shut its doors a few months ago. The friendly local had been around since the dawn of time, but it was looking a bit shabby, with its carpets proving stickier than the ageing punters. Many of them had either shuffled off to other bars, or shuffled off this mortal coil. It looked to have joined the list of vanished pubs, which is so much longer since the pandemic.
But to everyone’s surprise, the Nickleby reopened over the summer under new management, after a light-touch renovation and a revamped drinks menu. The customer numbers quickly doubled and their average ages halved. Remarkable what a lick of paint and a couple new lagers can do.
