Award-winning Northamptonshire pub The Red Lion is due to undergo a major refurbishment to reveal a new look.
The £200,000 investment for the renovation comes as publican Richard Gordon announced he and business partner Sonya Harvey will remain at the helm of the popular pub for the next decade after signing a new deal with Punch.
As licensees, the dynamic duo have helped make the Red Lion a roaring success, winning awards for their collective efforts and they raised a glass to toast the latest business development, which is a welcome cause for celebration as the hospitality industry faces one of its toughest times.
Director of Greedy Gordons Richard said: “We are celebrating the news we will be able to help the Red Lion achieve even further success having signed a new 10-year lease. Punch has given us the opportunity to sign up to a great deal to keep us in the pub for another decade, which is fantastic news.
“This significant investment in the refurbishment is very exciting with the exterior of the pub being revamped in October and we will close the first week of January for the rest of the interior renovations to be completed. The Red Lion was our first pub, it is the flagship of Greedy Gordons and we are looking forward to continuing to support the community, doing what we can to give them the best place to eat, meet and drink.”
The works at the Red Lion will see the historic pub in Cranford, near Kettering, transformed and refreshed with an overhaul of facilities, flooring, lighting and signage among some of the interior and exterior design plans which also include:
- Overhaul of toilet facilities
- New solid timber flooring in the conservatory and extension areas
- Installation of new upholstered fixed seating and wall-fixed illuminated wine bottle display
- Internal re-decoration
- New external signage plus new lighting.
In a bid to ensure local pubs like the Red Lion remain at the heart of the communities they serve, Richard recently returned to Whitehall to again address MPs as the hospitality sector highlighted how government policies continue to have a catastrophic impact industrywide.
Richard, who lobbied MPs earlier this year, was invited by John Dale at Punch to be the voice of the publican and speak at a session of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG).
The inquiry discussed ‘How Beer and Pubs Can Drive Economic Growth’ with campaigning licensee Richard joining the voices at the parliamentary session, attended by a number of MPs including APPBG chair Tonia Antoniazzi, Mary Glindon, Jamie Stone, Jacob Collier and Lord Evans of Rainow.
Richard said: “It was an opportunity to talk about the plight of the hospitality industry which is battling with the government to reduce VAT, national insurance and business rates. It’s a huge issue across the board that everyone is talking about.
“Places, despite being busy, are closing down because they can’t make it pay, great pub companies are going bust purely because of the national insurance rises – it cannot carry on like this. One in every three pounds that I take I give back to the government in tax – it is not sustainable. I’d be the first person to say I pay my taxes, I am more than happy to pay my share to help communities but not at the detriment of losing my business.
“All these places people go to are going to shut down or be few and far between if something isn’t done. What if there were no Greedy Gordons? It would impact the community, and the numerous community causes and charities we support, including the village hall and local foodbank.
“It was a real privilege and honour to be involved and hopefully some good will come out of it when the paper is released in October. It’s about having a voice; everyone needs to speak up and the more we do the more the government are going to hopefully have to take notice.”
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