Experienced licensees take over second pub with vision to turn it back into the heart of its community

The Blue Ball, a 16th century community pub in the heart of Kintbury,Berkshire,has welcomed two knowledgeable licensees to the pub, Vanessa and Andy Lynch. The experienced duo, who also run the Barleycorn Inn, in Collingbourne Kingston took over the Admiral Taverns pub on 9th November2020.

They are extremely excited to welcome the local community into the village pub, and restore its place at the heart of its community. Having frequently visited the village and pub itself a number of years ago whilst living on a narrow boat, the couple know the area well and will be working with the community to match their vision of the pub with what the customers are looking for.

Vanessa Lynch, licensee at the Blue Ball commented:“We can’t wait to open the doors of this magnificent pub to such a wonderful community. We fell in love with it years ago when we first visited the pub and it’s stayed close to our hearts ever since. We are committed to ensuring the pub is at the heart of its community, andare excited to work with the local residents to shape the pub, whilst using our experience to create a pub we will all be proud of.We knew taking on our second pub during these difficult times would be a challenge, but with the support of Admiral Taverns we are confident we can provide an exciting new offer to Kintbury.”

Vanessa and Andy’s vision is to replicate their already famous food offering from their existing pub which is ratednumber one onTripAdvisor in Marlborough. Head ChefAndy will be offering locals an excellent range of food, including steaks, burgers and homemade sourdough pizzas from their pizza oven.

The Blue Ball will be opening its doors on Thursday 3rd December,once current Government restrictions have been lifted,where the local community will be able to meet and greet the new friendly team.Vanessaand Andy know how important putting the pub back at the heart of the community is and will be listening to feedback from the locals, whilst using their existing experience to ensure the future success of the pub.

They also have an exciting array of events in the pipeline, including live music, quizzes, and vinyl nights, utilising their enormous beer garden which fits over 100 people.

The couple knew how hard it would be to take over a second pub, amidst a second lockdown but with the support of Admiral Taverns, the UK’s leading community pub group, theyfelt they had the support to carry this out.

Nick Lawson, Business Development Manager at Admiral Taverns commented:” We’re very grateful to have found two passionate licensees who will be an enormous addition to this community and customers won’t want to miss the chance to try head chef Andy’s famous dishes. They have a very clear vision which will ensure the future success of the pub at the heart of its community and we wish them all the best for the future.”