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23
Apr
New owner aims to bring village pub back to community after it 'completely lost its way'
The new owner of a historic village pub near Boroughbridge says he aims to bring it back to life after it “completely lost its way”.
Simon Wade is the owner of Langthorpe Live Inn Ltd, which is buying the Punch Bowl Inn at Marton-cum-Grafton. The sale is due to complete on Tuesday (April 28), but work has already started on its refurbishment.
Mr Wade said:
It’s a heritage pub, steeped in tradition, but it’s had its heyday. We’re going to bring that back and take it further, with fantastic hospitality and really good food, so that we get the local community coming back and seeing it as their hub once again.
This will be the fifth pub in Mr Wade’s portfolio. He already owns two small hotels with restaurants and bars – the Grantham Arms in Boroughbridge and the Blue Bell at Arkendale – and two pubs: the Fox and Hounds at Langthorpe and the Tap on the Tutt in Boroughbridge.
The Punch Bowl is grade II listed and dates back to the 16th century. It was converted into a coaching inn in the 18th century, and in the 1950s and '60s operated as a roadhouse near the Great North Road.
In the 2010s, the pub was owned by Men Behaving Badly actor Neil Morrissey, and it featured in a Channel 4 series called Men Brewing Badly, which following Morrissey and business partner Richard Fox – previously co-owner of the Blues Bar in Harrogate – as they refurbished the pub and installed a microbrewery in the back.
That venture was short-lived and in 2017 the pub was bought by Provenance Inns. But Mr Wade said its recent history was marked by decline:
The Punch Bowl Inn in Marton-cum-Grafton.
The pub served its last meal on Christmas Day, and it’s just completely lost its way. We’re going to revitalise it and turn it into somewhere vibrant that people want to come to.
We’re completely upgrading the facilities, and want to capitalise on its feature to bring it to life again, with great food and drink from local suppliers, and a lot of heart and passion. Basically, we’re going to do here what we’ve already done very successfully with the Blue Bell.
He said he aimed to re-open the pub on Friday, May 1, and added:
The bottom line is that we’re putting a lot of time, energy and investment into a fantastic village that’s desperate to have its pub back. We’re doing the best we can to make it the best one in the area.
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