Cheers! Landlord celebrates early success after new Black Country pub opens in former derelict club
Landlord Neil Cooper is raising a glass to early success after opening a new pub in a Black Country building that has been derelict for 10 years.
The Liberal Club, on High Street, Quarry Bank closed down in 2012, but has now reopened as a pub after a major refurbishment, and newly named as 'The Old Liberal'.
Neil was born and brought up in Quarry Bank and so, felt it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to open a pub in his home area.
After being in talks for two years, he has completed a big refurbishment and turned it into a pub, and it officially opened its doors on Sunday, November 20.
A few weeks on after opening, Neil shared about how it has been. He said: "It's been a really good few weeks and exceeded my expectations.
"Everyone has been lovely, getting a lot of positive feedback. And I've had people coming in saying they have found a new local, which is really nice to hear and so I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.
"Despite the rising energy costs, we will hopefully be getting through it. There is still people out there that want to come out to a pub for a drink, and we hope to continue to be able to host them."
Speaking about opening a pub in his home area, Neil said: "We have taken it over and done a complete refurbishment, and now have it ready to serve customers.
"It's lovely to be able to open a pub in the area that I'm from.
"It's a old liberal club that used to be popular and so it's nice to have a pub back open and get some life back in the streets.
"Running pubs is in my blood, and it is nice to able to open my own place without it being owned by a brewery.
"I previously ran the Brickmakers in Quarry Bank, but now to own freehold lease of The Old Liberal is a great feeling.
"I want to say a big thank you to Stanley John Owen and his team for getting the building ready in time for me to open."
The pub will be serving cobs daily, and will begin serving hot food from the new year, and has a function room for hire, and there are plans to have weekly entertainment.
Neil also plans to hold regular darts tournaments in his entertainment room which has four dart boards.
