A former engineer is set to reopen a popular Bradford on Avon pub that unexpectedly closed late last year.
Josh Noble, from Shaftesbury, has acquired the Rising Sun and hopes to re-open it by the end of August.
The former pupil of Shaftesbury School recently left his job at the Meiyume beauty products factory in Trowbridge to become self-employed.
In a post on local social media, Mr Noble, 28, said: “There’s a lot of work to do but we’re making good progress.
“We have completely ripped it out . Everything is going to be new except for the bar structure which will stay.”
The pub’s interior, including the main bar and snug bar area, is being completely redecorated and refurbished.
Mr Noble and pub manager Lee Turner have already made improvements to the Rising Sun’s beer garden as part of a £100,000 investment.
He added: “We’re very excited and keen to get everyone back in there, fingers crossed everything will continue going to plan.”
More than 140 regulars signed a petition launched by locals Carey Chapman and John Hutchinson to keep the pub open before it closed last November.
It was put up for sale by licensed property specialists Sidney Phillips with a price tag of £330,000 and as offering the potential for ‘alternative use’.
The pub was part of the Wellington Pub Company property portfolio managed by Criterion Asset Management.
The Rising Sun dates back to the 1870s and is a ‘wet-led’ pub that was formerly well used by the local community.
A prospective new tenant was due to take on the pub before it closed but then pulled out over concerns about the decline of the UK pub industry and the prevailing economic situation.
Mr Noble, who has family living in the Bradford on Avon and Winsley area, says he has worked in the hospitality sector alongside his engineering jobs.
“I have worked in pubs before and really enjoy it. Buying the pub has given me an opportunity to start my own business.
“I enjoy interacting with other people. We just want to get it opened and see how things are.
“Everyone is keen to get in and we’re keen to get people in. We want to make sure they enjoy themselves.”
He intends to keep the Sky Sports TV coverage of big matches and hopes to offer food in a few months’ time if all goes well.
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