A well-known Staffordshire Moorlands pub has closed for a £300,000 overhaul with a new operator preparing to take the reins.
Heineken-owned Star Pubs says it will be transforming The Roaring Meg in Biddulph from a dated pub into a top-quality family-friendly local complete with brand-new games facilities and a new food offering.
When it reopens in late May, it will be ran on behalf of Star Pubs by Hollie Jeffery, who grew up in Leek and whose grandparents ran pubs around Stoke-on-Trent.
Hollie, who has worked in pubs in the Leek area since leaving school, said: “I used to visit my grandparents in their pubs as a child and have wanted to run one for as long as I can remember.
“The Roaring Meg is just what I’ve been looking for – a family-oriented community pub in a friendly town that I know.
“It’s in need of TLC now but it will look fantastic once the works are completed. There’s lots of excitement about the refurbishment. I can’t wait to open the doors and show people their new look local.”
The extensive redecoration of the Pennine Way pub will include new flooring, soft furnishings and furniture, reupholstery of the fixed seating, new wallpaper and light fittings.
It will reopen with a lounge/dining area, a bar with new pool table and darts zone, and a surround-sound AV system with six screens to show Sky and TNT Sports.
Other improvements include adding a coffee machine, refitting the kitchen to bring back a food offering, and a state-of-the-art dispense system for drinks.
Outside, the pub will be repainted along with having new cladding, signage and lighting installed. The 100-seater garden will have a makeover with new furniture, parasols and festoon lighting.
The pub will also host activities ranging from coffee mornings, bingo and boardgame sessions to DJs, karaoke and live entertainment.
Ecke’s Quiz night – a much-loved staple of the pub for 25 years – will continue on Thursdays and be a feature of the opening event which will also include a DJ and party.
There will be room for local groups to hold meetings, planned fundraisers and special events and pool and darts teams.
Paul Alldis, Star Pubs’ business development manager, said: “We’re delighted to be investing in The Roaring Meg and giving it a new lease of life. As the only pub in the immediate vicinity, it’s an important gathering place.
“We want to create a great local for residents on their doorsteps; from good pub food to sports and events, there’ll be lots of reasons to visit and something for everyone.
“We’re working flat out to reopen in time for the second May bank holiday weekend.”
The Roaring Meg is named after a cannon used by Parliamentarians besieging Royalists in nearby Biddulph Old Hall in 1644.
My mum and dad were the very first licensees to run the roaring Meg that opened on 7th April 1974, mr and Mrs a Challinor.