'Unloved' Toton pub The Manor to get new lease of life and will be made 'beautiful' over time

An unloved pub with a declining trade is set to be given a new lease of life after a takeover. The Manor has had a succession of managers over time but big changes are in hand.

The pub - the only one remaining in Toton - will have different beers, a brand new food menu and over time it will be "made beautiful". New owner, the locally-run One Union pub company, is hoping to replicate the success it's enjoying at its other pub, the Commercial Inn in Beeston.

Director Ronnie Guest said: "We're going to be on a long-term lease here so it's not going to be like a short flash in the pan. Although Greene King owns the building we are free of tie, a free house similar to the Commercial. We are our own brand so it will be more us and less Greene King.

Get the latest What's On news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp

"Fingers crossed, the plan to make it as good as the Commercial. That's been a fantastic success story and we see exactly the same potential here. We have been keen and looking around the area so this is the right place for us. It's a really good fit."

One of the features that really appealed is the location, at a busy crossroads on the corner of the A6005 Nottingham Road and High Road. Ronnie said: "The location is fantastic."

Ollie Bastiani has been appointed general manager - a promotion from his previous role of assistant manager at the Commercial, in Wollaton Road. He's only been in place a week but already some of the tatty upholstery has been sorted out.

One of the next jobs is to revamp the toilets. New soft furnishings and alternations to the bar are planned. The character will be retained. "The idea is to make the place look beautiful over a period of time," he said.

The bar offering will be changing. "We are going to change what we've currently got over to stuff people are more familiar with over at the Commercial - it's not going to be exactly the same. Carling is going to change to Amstel, Prahva is being changed for Asashi, which is something we've not done at any of our venues. It's one of my personal favourites. Thackers Cider is changing to Inch's.

"We're getting Estrella Galicia. We will be increasing our cask ale as well. We currently have five pumps here - that will be changing over to eight in a few weeks. It's stuff that I really like and I think people will enjoy more than the current range, not to knock the current range, but it's not really what we do at One Union.

"Once we have eight lines installed it will be different beers predominately from local breweries, at least within a 100-mile radius and it means a lot more choice. There will be one dark line, a ruby or golden, and the rest will be pale from lots of different places that the regulars who have stayed here for a long time aren't used to but I think they'll be excited by the choice."

It's just drinks being served for now as work is under way to renovate the kitchen. At first it will be a limited food menu with crowd pleasers such as curry, steak, fish and chips, burgers and tapas. Going forward there will be more additions including pizzas and Sunday roasts.

If Sunday dinner at The Manor equals the quality of the one at the Commercial, it could alleviate the pressure there. It's so popular that throughout the day tables are booked three times over for the roasts, which were named the best in Notts in a Nottinghamshire Live readers' poll.

Ollie said: "Given we won that voters' poll a few months ago it's got to a point at the Commercial where we can't squeeze too many more people in. We saw the growth anyway but when we won the poll it snowballed. People were struggling to get in, having to book two to three weeks in advance for larger tables.

"We squeeze in as many people as we can but the pub is limited. You can only fit so many people in. If we can match the quality of what we do over there with a very similar menu, people have the option then. If we are too busy over there we can recommend over here.

"It's high on my priority list as I really love doing the Sunday dinners, always have, so I am really looking forward to pushing that but we are still a few weeks away. People love what we do at the Commercial, they expect the same over here for sure.

"We haven't got an official date for the kitchen reopening but I am keen to take our time on it and make sure we do it right. The worst thing you can do is rush in."

Plenty of familiar faces have been popping in from the Commercial, which attracts customers from Toton. Ollie said: "They are excited about having that sort of experience over here. Ever since we found out we were taking over this place there's been a massive buzz. We are hoping to replicate what we do at the Commercial over here so people have the choice of whether they want to go to Beeston or have it on their doorstep.

"It's very evident from the conversations that I've had that everyone loves this pub but it had a massive drop off. People are excited we're coming here and giving it a new lease of life. We are looking forward to seeing it thriving again and I think a lot of the community are as well."

Another One Union takeover is in the pipeline but the owners want to keep the details under wraps until they've got the keys. In 2022 the company took over the Malt Shovel in Beeston, giving it a stylish renovation, but pulled out four months later.

Ronnie said: "It was a real shame. It seemed a really good fit for us. There is potential there but the freedom from the brewery was non-existent. I think they want it as a managed house, solely their products on.

"We are really keen to have our own identity and it was too restrictive. We didn't gel well with Heineken and the contracts offered weren't suitable for us. We have a great working relationship with Greene King and because we've done such a good job at a site they were looking to potentially get rid of, hopefully we can do the same here."