The town centre community pub revived thanks to a £230,000 refurbishment
As pubs continue to battle the cost of living crisis, the Express & Star continues its Love Your Local series which celebrates our local inns.
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A town centre pub has different challenges to pubs nestled in housing estates or out on country lanes.
These pubs face competition from national chains and have had to do work to improve, update and renovate the facilities, as well as revamp the drinks selection, to attract customers.
The White Swan in Oldbury is one of those pubs which has done that work, having reopened in September 2023 after spending £230,000 on a complete renovation of the pub, which had become dated.
This included putting in a new heating system, new flooring, a new gaming area with a pool table, slot machines and a dart board, a complete revamp of the decor and the addition of live music and a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays until 2am.
Deputy manager Ben Otto says he and manager Adam Reise had also worked to lower the prices to become more competitive with other pubs in the town.
He has been running the pub since his colleague Adam had to go off on long-term sick leave, having moved in and begun working in the pub several months ago and had been working in the pub trade since he was 18 in different pubs across the region.
