TWO men are taking on the challenge of running a popular pub in Taunton.
Will Turle and Ben Wenner, business partners who currently live in Bristol, are the new tennants of The Racehorse Inn.
St Austell Brewery was advertising for someone to take on the pub in December.
READ MORE: Vacancy for new tenants at Taunton's Racehorse Inn, in East Street
Will and Ben are planning to pick up the keys on May 17, and will be re-opening on May 30.
Together, the pair have around 20 years experience in hospitality working in many big hotels, restaurants and so on.
“We have always said we would like to run a pub together,” said Will.
“We have been managing businesses for about 10 years now, but we wanted to make some money for ourselves.
“We weren’t expecting it to happen so soon, but everything aligned - the pub is located in my home town and we know the area really well.
“We are really pleased and are really looking forward to opening.”
The pair are looking to revamp and remodel the pub, but want to keep the “bones of the place”.
They are looking to make a feature of the pub garden, and plan to host a garden party with a band when the pub opens.
They also want to bring back the pub sports teams, such as darts and skittles.
Will and Ben are also looking to add a food offering, and will start with lunches first - planning to offer home-cooked food, such as homemade sausage rolls, pies and so on.
The pair are hopeful for the future, despite it being a difficult year for hospitality.
“The last few weeks pub gardens have re-opened and it has proven that the want is there,” added Will.
“From our perspective it is difficult to predict but we are quietly confident.
“We have all the training required to make sure everything is Covid safe.
“We’re a new business, but we are hoping to drive this forward and hopefully the lifting of restrictions will help see us out of this nightmare.
“We’re so excited to get stuck in to our business, we are just in the process of wrapping everything up in Bristol.
“We’re really looking forward to it.
“We can’t wait to see you all there!”
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