Blackpool pub to re-open after council purchase

Blackpool pub The Hop is set to re-open before Easter after being taken over by the company which runs the Winter Gardens.
The Hop which is to re-openThe Hop which is to re-open
The Hop which is to re-open

The hostelry on the corner of King Street and Cookson Street closed last November and was bought by Blackpool Council in December for £264,500 from pub chain Greene King.

It has now been taken over by the Blackpool Entertainment Company (BEC), an arms length organisation of the council which runs the Winter Gardens.

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BEC managing director Michael Williams said; “We are undertaking a mini refurbishment inside and out and want to get the pub open again rather than having a closed property in this area of town.

“It will be a community pub with live entertainment, sports etc and family friendly.

“In the last week since we’ve been in, we’ve had lots of people asking if it is re-opening and genuinely pleased it is.”

The council bought The Hop as part of the next phase of Talbot Gateway, but with future plans some way off, wants to get the pub back open in the meantime.

Five full-time equivalent jobs will be created.

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The Hop, which previously traded as The Veevers Arms Hotel, is locally listed by the council in recognition of its heritage value.

BEC is also expanding its Tower Coffee Company brand and is taking over the running of Caffe Dolce on Abingdon Street, which will operate alongside its existing coffee shop in Bickerstaffe Square.

Mr Williams said: “It means all the profit stays in Blackpool and goes towards further refurbishment of the Winter Gardens.”

The Blackpool Entertainment Company has applied for a new alcohol licence for the Hop, and will re-open before Easter once that is in place.

It is the second pub in that part of the town centre to re-open recently, with the Brew Room on Church Street opening just before Christmas in the former Stanley Arms Blue Room.