Oxford's historic Lamb & Flag pub ‘will never close’ once it reopens, according to one of the leaders of a community interest group now running it.
The pub in St Giles, one of the city’s oldest, closed in January last year due to adverse trading conditions in the pandemic.
But community interest group the Inklings stepped in to take over the running of the St John’s College-owned pub.
It was due to reopen this month but the resignation of Steve Jones, who had been appointed landlord, has led to delays.
Read again: Lamb & Flag reopening is delayed
More than 50 members of the Inklings gathered at the pub on Thursday to celebrate the prospect of reopening with a pint.
Inklings board member Dave Norwood told other members that he was delighted to see them gathered in the renovated pub, which has had its front bar removed to create more space.
There will be more private gatherings for Inklings members soon but the pub is not expected to reopen to the public until April.
Mr Norwood said: “We are hoping to reopen the wrong side of Easter - obviously we need to hire a new landlord - but once we reopen we will never close.”
Kate O’Brien, who runs the Inklings group, said the new bar at the front of the pub could be ‘an amazing space for community events’.
“It’s amazing to see so many Inklings gathered here - Dave has been working on the project for a year - it looks like shabby chic at the moment - there has been some good progress but we are not done yet.”
Dave Richardson, of the Oxford branch of CAMRA, said he was pleased to see the work which has taken place so far.
He added: “They have revamped the cellar, revamped the toilets and updated the kitchen.
“There is now much more room at the front of the pub after the front bar was removed - it was installed in the 1990 so it is not of any real historic interest.”
Asked about Steve Jones’s departure, Mr Norwood said earlier: “It didn’t work out and this was a difficult project to manage.
Read more: Historic Lamb & Flag is to close
“A lot of people were involved on our side and we struggled a bit with how each other worked. We have no hard feelings against Steve and we want him to do well in the future. The Community Benefit model is an unusual beast.”
A regular in the Good Beer Guide and many times winner of the City Pub of the Year award before its closure around Christmas 2020, the Lamb & Flag will again be positioned as a real ale pub with up to six local ales on hand pump, and will have a modest food offering rather than being a food-led pub.
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Ms Kate O’Brien wrote to shareholders and told them earlier: “Our mission remains to preserve, protect and enjoy the Lamb & Flag whatever happens out there. It’s been a mighty response, and there are now nearly 300 Inklings. Despite the challenges of Omicron, we have all been working hard to get the pub ready for the reopening. Everyone who has dropped by seems to be excited by the renovations.”
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