Run-down Wellingborough pub to become upmarket bar after £400,000 refurb
Last orders were rung at The Horseshoe Inn last night - but the closure is only temporary.
The pub in Sheep Street, Wellingborough, will be shut for four weeks for a huge overhaul costing £400,000 paid for by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars & Bars. It will also be given a new name - Horseshoes.
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Hide AdIt will reopen in mid-March in time for St Patrick’s Day with up to ten new jobs created.
The town centre boozer will be transformed into a stylish upmarket bar called Horseshoes, offering food and barista style coffee as well as a selection of premium drinks including craft ales, gins and cocktails to broaden its appeal.
It will also show all live sporting events and at weekends have live music and a late licence.
Funds are being spent on a complete internal and external overhaul of the pub creating room for 100 covers inside and a courtyard garden at the rear with a new cocktail, gin and bottle bar, terrace and covered pergola with festoon lighting to add to the ambience.
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Hide AdThe front of the pub is being redecorated in a light and dark grey with No. 36, the pub’s Sheep Street number, emblazoned on the wall.
Inside, the look will be modern industrial with exposed brick walls with painted signage and artwork, a metal clad bar and copper tiled feature ceiling. Booth-style seating is being introduced with individual TVs for groups to watch sport.
For pub manager, Wellingborough born-and-bred Melissa Parker, the refurbishment can’t come soon enough.
She has been running the pub for the past eight months following a career an events manager.
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Hide AdShe said: “I’ve lived in Wellingborough all my life and so know the area well. Wellingborough has been crying out for a top end pub like Horseshoes that offers something for everyone.
“We’ll open from 10am for breakfast and lunches and will welcome shoppers, workers and families in the day.
”In the evening it will be a great place for groups to go for a night out with a good selection of grazing food to share. There will be massive TVs for watching sport and we’ll stay open late at weekends, upping the tempo and providing locals with a more upmarket night-time venue.”
Regional Operations Director for Star Pubs & Bars Paul Linton said: “Wellingborough’s value end of the hospitality market is well catered for, but there’s little choice at the more premium end of the market.
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Hide Ad“Wellingborough warrants a bar like Horseshoes especially with the massive housebuilding underway on its outskirts.
“People are going out less, but when they do, they want a better-quality environment and more premium drinks.
“Whereas before they had to travel to Kettering or Northampton for this type of experience, they’ll now have it on their doorstep with Horseshoes.”