A popular community pub has reopened – after being taken over by the person who lives next door.
Jenni Walls has become the new landlady of the George and Dragon pub, in Lichfield, following eight months of closure.
Originally a medical secretary, Jenni has experience in the trade thanks to running The Lucky Kiss pool and darts venue in Tamworth in recent years.
She is now preparing to sell that club to fully concentrate on the George and Dragon, which re-opened on 17 June and enjoyed so much success that every draught product was a sell-out.
“The George and Dragon was a lovely little pub when I first moved in,” said Jenni. “But it wasn’t looked after in the end.
“I seized the opportunity to take it on and thought it would be nice because I could run it the way I wanted to.
“People are certainly keen to support us – we had wall to wall people all day on the first day.
“I’m hopeful that will continue.”
Positive feedback from the opening day came despite teething problems behind the bar, and then a leak in the cellar and storage space due to heavy rain meant the Beacon Street venue had to remain closed for the start of last week.
But Jenni hopes more warm weather will bring punters back out, especially because the pub has such a large beer garden which overlooks Lichfield Cathedral.
Jenni has a lot of plans for the traditional venue, including bringing in singers and food vans for special themed nights and creating an outside bar.
She also hopes to set up a tepee over the courtyard so that it can continue to be used during colder months.
The pub has created eight jobs, with some vacancies still available.
Local artist Jackie Roberts has produced pictures for the lounge, and local suppliers will be used for high-quality snacks and cakes.
Good luck and may you prosper in your endeavour to bring quality and service to the Lichfield community from all the volunteer team of Lichfield’s Late Night Listeners…
Top bar manager in Cam who we loved at the inkwell 👍