Family's bid to revive ailing boozer
A family of licensees are hoping their revival of an old Ipswich pub will draw in a loyal crowd of customers.
IPSWICH: A family of licensees are hoping their revival of an old Ipswich pub will draw in a loyal crowd of customers.
The Ridgeons are determined to breathe life back into The Kingfisher in Chantry by inviting the entire community to get involved in its resurrection.
Julie and Kevin Ridgeon, along with daughter Sam are inviting people in the area to meet the new tenants of their pub, which has been closed since May.
The new managers want to encourage the people of Chantry back to The Kingfisher and to reinstate the watering hole as a proper family local.
The Ridgeons originally hail from Essex, where they successfully ran two pubs and won top marks from council chiefs for their efforts.
Mrs Ridgeon is confident the family can add The Kingfisher to their list of successes - despite the pub industry facing challenging times.
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She said: “We see this as a community pub and we want to give it back to them.
“This is somewhere people can bring the whole family. We're offering a small menu in the afternoons and will soon be doing Sunday lunches.
“We really want to use it as a music venue during the week and hope youngsters will want to rehearse and perform here. We also have a massive car park that we want to eventually use for fun days and charity events.”
The Ridgeons used their own resources on top of money from Enterprise Inns to completely revamp the pub.
Mrs Ridgeon added: “The pub may have had its problems in the past but now we want to say to the whole community: 'Here we are, come and see us'.”
Pleased to see The Kingfisher serving pints again? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
