The Whitakers Arms on Burnley Road, has been closed since January 15, yet today was its grand reopening where the Mayor of Hyndburn was in attendance.
After a quick turnaround when it came to transforming the entire premises, The Whitaker’s Arms saw Mayor Terry Hurn cut the rope to announce that the pub is back in business.
The refurbishment project was undertaken by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars and has seen Vanessa Wolfenden take the helm as the licensee.
After a quick turnaround when it came to transforming the entire premises, The Whitaker’s Arms saw Mayor Terry Hurn cut the rope to announce that the pub is back in business.
The refurbishment project was undertaken by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars and has seen Vanessa Wolfenden take the helm as the licensee.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Sam, Digital Reporter for the Lancashire Post and today I went to the village of Hunco
00:05 where a local pub known as the Whittaker's Arms has just undergone a £287,000 refurbishment.
00:12 I went to speak to the licensee, Vanessa, about the future of the pub and what the refurbishment
00:17 has done.
00:18 So when Jamie and myself decided that we wanted to go into a pub, it was finding the right
00:31 pub and we looked from Harrogate to Newcastle to Hull and we weren't going to just take
00:43 the first pub because this is what we decided to do, it was about finding the right one.
00:48 So we started our training without having a pub because we decided we were going to
00:51 go with Starbars and Pubs.
00:52 So we started the training and this came on and that day of training we came into here
00:59 and sat at a pint and we said, "Do you know what it is?
01:03 This feels like home."
01:04 So we phoned up and said, "Is it still available?"
01:07 "Yes."
01:08 And then we started the process.
01:10 We've been here nearly two weeks and sitting and eating tea downstairs at night, we've
01:17 lived and breathed the place and it's definitely become home.
01:20 We did a dummy run last night and it's quite unusual that we're inviting people into
01:25 what we call our front room.
01:27 I think, yes, welcoming.
01:30 We feel welcomed here.
01:31 We feel welcomed by everybody that's popped their head in.
01:34 Very, very excited about the future and putting her where she needs to be, really.
01:39 So the £287,000 refurbishment, what exactly has that gone into in terms of around the
01:47 pub?
01:48 So it's all had new flooring, full redecoration, a refurb of all the furniture that's gone
01:54 into there.
01:55 We've got new TVs, new pool table, all the lights on the bar are new as well.
02:01 We've got all the tidying area.
02:04 We've got a brand new kitchen that's gone in as well.
02:08 New fridges, microwave and everything.
02:12 All new lighting, all new signage outside the front.
02:16 We've now got more seating for outside.
02:18 So there's seven tables outside the back and there's three outside the front and it's
02:26 had a major clean down for the back area as well.
02:29 Little bits of general repair needs to be done as well.
02:33 Brand new dark board, all the area's nice and generally really good lift to the area.
02:38 You mentioned before you're looking forward to throwing a few events and having entertainment.
02:43 What sort of things are you planning to put on?
02:46 So we're going to go and put live acts on on a Saturday.
02:49 We've already booked acts out until June on a Saturday night.
02:55 We've got the function room that's available for 150 people to find out and events that
03:01 are happening in the day.
03:03 And then we are going to run bingo as well and quiz nights.
03:13 When we go down and carry a group we're not really sure.
03:15 We want to get the locals in and get a bit, you know, we want to provide what they want as well.
03:19 So we're quite a dog friendly place as well.
03:22 So dogs are available and can come in the area and apart from the parking area.
03:29 We've got dog trees behind the bar so we've got a dog menu on as well.
03:33 And generally we try and get walkers in to come from here because they go from the other side.
03:38 And there's fantastic different areas to explore from the back.
03:42 So we've got a car park for about 32 cars.
03:47 So it's a really good start and end point as well.
03:49 Office is a little bit different.
03:51 We've got coffee and we do free refills as well.
03:54 The menu is really, really good.
03:56 We've tasted it on numerous occasions.
03:58 The staff have tasted it and the staff want to come in and eat again.
04:03 And I guess just on a final point, what do you hope the Whitsakers Islands kind of brings to the local community?
04:09 We want to be a premium community local and to put it where it needs to be.
04:15 By offering what everybody wants as well.
04:18 We've got a really, really good team behind us from the back of the house to the front of the house as well.
04:24 It's quite warm. People come in, if there's a chance, come in.
04:28 They'll come back again.
04:29 [Music]