See inside new Peaky Blinders-themed bar ready for business in Dudley

Businessman and Peaky Blinders fan Tony Mckeon, who is behind the £250,000 project, invited the Express & Star to get an early peek at The Office Bar & Restaurant.

It has been created on the ground floor at the former Station Hotel in Castle Hill which has been undergoing refurbishment since it changed hands just before Christmas.

The hotel – a separate business – also partly reopens on Monday with about 20 bedrooms in operation as The Station Hotel and Banqueting Suite.

The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Anne Millward, and some of the other borough councillors been invited to have a tour of The Office on Saturday, August 7 when a private VIP party is also being held to show off the new attraction.

It opens to the public from 11am on Monday and has created a dozen new jobs.

Mr Mckeon, from Birmingham, says The Office, which has a capacity of 250, is all about the ‘real’ Peaky Blinders and not centred around the BBC TV show's characters and events.

The hotel will also be offering a number of hotel rooms following the Peaky Blinders theme named for characters from the TV show's Shelby family.

Regular Peaky Blinders entertainment evenings are planned and the menu will feature some Black Country classics like faggots and peas and balti curries.

Paintings from the official Peaky Blinders Artist Jon Jones are also featured.

The banqueting suite at the hotel has also been renovated and will be available for private hire for weddings parties and special events. Agames room has also been created upstairs.

Mr Mckeon said: "The story and history around the Peaky Blinders has been my passion for a long time. I have collected items of memorabilia and many pieces of artwork from Jon Jones who is the official Peaky Blinders artist.

"Birmingham’s famous professor and historian Carl Chinn has also shared some of his knowledge about the real Peaky Blinders with me.

"When I saw the Station Hotel, I knew straight away that the history and architecture here would be a perfect fit with a Peaky Blinders theme and a great place to share my passion with the local community and visitors from all over the world."

Alongside the 1920s style decor The Office will also have some hi tec features. Tables are equipped with electronic devices to order food and drink and customers check in electronically to get a table. Staff are equipped with smart watches to ensure orders are delivered to the right customers.

Mr Mckeon plans to start selling a Peaky Blinders clothing range including three-piece suits and the peaked caps associated with the Brummie gang.

The hotel has been bought by another Birmingham businessman Steven Buray, who lives near Hagley, and his family.

They and Mr Mckeon also hope to offer Peaky Blinders-themed weekends so people visiting the nearby Black Country Living Museum can stay in the area.

The price paid for the hotel has not been disclosed but the refurbishment, which has retained 1920s features, is expected to have cost more than £1 million.

The 38-bedroom hotel had been on the market for offers of more than £1.25 million before it was bought. It dates back to 1898 and had just opened a new tea room in March last year. before it was forced to close by the coronavirus pandemic.

The later hotel building from 1910 was demolished in 1936 when the current larger building on the junction with Trindle Road was built.

It was used by entertainers appearing at the old Dudley Hippodrome, directly opposite in Castle Hill, with Laurel and Hardy staying there in 1947 on their theatre tour of the UK that featured in the 2018 film Stan and Ollie.