"A pub for everyone, not just the few" Lyndhurst landlady speaks out amid backlash

A landlady of a beloved local has spoken up after experiencing a large amount of complaints regarding her new pub.

Becky Blissett, who has been in the pub game for years, recently took over one of the town's favourites The Lyndhurst.

But since her team started making the old establishment their own, they have received multiple instances of backlash from the community.

"We've had a couple of complications along the way. We recently had to shut for a few days which upset quite a few people," Ms Blissett said.

"A lot of people are supporting us, but we still are getting a lot of backlash."

Ms Blissett said that people are accusing them of turning The Lyndhurst into a sports bar, competing with mainstream pubs and bars like Walkabout and O'Neill's.

"We're just trying to make it a pub, which is what a lot of the locals wanted. We can't compete with the last owners who served food from top chefs.

"We're just trying to do pub grub, and want to be somewhere for everyone, not just the select few."

Ms Blissett said she still has people coming in and complaining about the new Lyndhurst, and have even had people shaking their heads at them through the window.

Both her and her sister have a strong history of working in bars and pubs, and have even owned others in the area.

The Lyndhurst is a family-run establishment, with Becky as the landlady and her sister Jenna helping out along with her father.

Both sisters have also been through a particularly hard time lately, with Ms Blissett's mother sadly passing away earlier this year and Mrs Brother's good friend passing a few years prior.

"We are here to support the community and make it a great place to come and visit. We are offering traditional Sunday roasts. We all have years of experience running places like this," she continued.

Ms Blissett said The Lyndhurst will be showing every game of the euros for the 2024 tournament, but are still adamant that they should not be considered a sports bar.

For the England game, the pub are putting on offers for things like a curry and a pint.

"We just don't want the backlash of it all. I know we're going to get it, but we're here trying to make The Lyndhurst a diverse place for the locals to come and enjoy," she said.

"We don't want to focus on the older crowd or the younger crowd. We want it to be a place for everyone."