Yahoo News Heineken continues work to reopen Watford pub amid 62-bar plan
Heineken remains set to reopen Watford pub after it announced plans to bring 62 boozers back across the UK.
The brand’s subsidiary Star Pubs & Bars Yesterday (May 6) announced its £39 million project, which will involve refurbishments for around a quarter of its 2,400 pubs nationally along with reopenings.
More than £3.45 million of the total has been earmarked for pubs in London and the Home Counties.
The Estcourt Arms in St Johns Road. (Image: Stephen Danzig)
Although not included in the list of 62 pubs (because its reopening had already been confirmed), The Estcourt Arms in St Johns Road is also set to be brought back by Heineken.
It was boarded up after being shut down when its landlords left in November last year. Repairs and upgrades were then carried out in January and Star Pubs & Bars is currently looking for a new tenant to run it when it returns.
Managing director Lawson Mountstevens said: “Pubs have proved their enduring appeal; after all the disruption of recent years, Star is on track to have the lowest number of long-term closed pubs since 2019.
The Oddfellows from Fearnley Street. (Image: The Oddfellows.)
“It’s a tribute to the drive and entrepreneurship of licensees and the importance of continued investment.
“We’ve spent more than £200m maintaining and upgrading our pubs over the last five years, and we’ll continue to invest to keep them open and thriving.”
“Tired” suburban pubs are being particularly targeted for improvement as increasing numbers of people are working from home and looking to save on travel. The “premium” pub experience is therefore being brought to them.
No Watford pubs are included in yesterday's list of those set to be upgraded or reopened, but the brand’s pubs have still been busy in the area.
Thekaa Gastropub in The Parade. (Image: Thekaa Gastropub)
The Oddfellows, in Fearnley Street, Watford, was reopened in December and unveiled a “stunning” transformed beer garden last month.
Thekaa Gastropub opened in the former Marcel’s unit in The Parade last June.
The closed restaurant ‘East’ in Elstree High Street, set to be brought back into use as ‘The Plough’, is another Hertfordshire pub that had already been confirmed as reopening.
