Stafford pub pair have big plans

A Stafford pub has been given a new lease of life after being taken over by new tenants.

The Nesbitt Arms had been closed since before Christmas after its previous landlord quit. But the Churchill Way pub has now been taken over by chef Billy Savage and his wife Lucy Symes.

They pulled their first pints at their new establishment last week. The pair, who have been married for five years, ran the popular Hollybush Inn in Seighford from November 2009 until June this year, when owners Punch Taverns sold the site to an Indian restaurant chain.

Lucy, aged 38, who also works as a ceramics lecturer at Stafford College, said: "We were given two weeks notice to leave and we were devastated - absolutely heartbroken.

"We were just starting to get really busy, especially at Sunday lunchtime, and it was a kick in the teeth for a lot of our customers.

"We started looking for another pub to take on but we were effectively in limbo, and we were really pleased when we were offered this one."

Having signed a five-year lease on the Nesbitt Arms, Lucy and Billy, aged 44, who is originally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and served five years as head chef at the Bell at Haughton, have big plans for their new establishment.

Solihull-based Enterprise Inns, which owns the pub, will shortly begin a £20,000 makeover. And the couple hope to transform the upstairs accommodation into bed and breakfast facilities.

Lucy, who was born and raised in Stafford, said they hoped to use a range of special offers to tempt new customers.