New ownership gives The Fox at Kirton new lease of life after nearly a decade closed
A father and son duo have transformed a popular village pub back into its former glory.
On Wednesday, 16 March, The Fox at Kirton re-opened its doors after the pub was nearly closed for more than eight years.
The pub will now be opened Wednesdays to Sundays from 12pm, staying open until 9pm week nights, 10pm Fridays and Saturdays and 8pm on Sundays.
New owner Dave Carter and his son, James Carter, have completely gutted and refurbished the pub since Dave purchased it in 2016, replacing everything from the walls and floors to the bar.
James, who is the pub's general manager, said: "It's been really busy; the first week was amazing and we took more than double what we were expecting.
"It feels amazing to be finally open, it has been such a long time in the making and there has been a lot of people involved over the years to get it to where it is now and it's a huge sense of achievement."
There was live music on Friday, 18 March, to celebrate the re-opening and James says they hope to have more live music in the future, possibly making it a monthly thing.
Despite the complete refurbishment of the pub, the layout is still the same, and many local residents recognise the pub from their younger years.
James added: "People recognise it from their childhoods, and I think it meant quite a lot to a number of people growing up.
"The local community have been extremely supportive and welcoming, it's a really nice community to live in, we are really lucky."
The project has been a great experience for the father son duo, who made sure to have the first pints of Guinness once the beer taps were up and running.
James said that it was in that moment everything seemed to come together and how "all of that work came into reality in just that moment."
Dave has carefully built the pub's menu and had a clear idea of what he wanted the pub to be like visually throughout.
Although neither Dave or James had prior experience in hospitality until Dave purchased the pub, as Dave is a furniture designer and creator, selling items to companies across the UK, with James helping with the more digital aspects.
James explained that his dad "was looking for somewhere else to live and was looking for places on Rightmove and this pub kept coming up and he kept ignoring it."
But one day when the traffic was bad on the A1, Dave found himself going through the villages and stopped in Kirton to have a look at the pub he kept seeing and fell in love with it.
James added: "He's definitely an emotional buyer, he just looked at the place and decided it was a project he wanted to take on.
"So not at all what he was intending to do."
