Seaside Travel owners Nicola Park and Barry Coatman have added to their 13-shop travel agency empire by opening a local village pub.
The couple, known as ‘Mr and Mrs Seaside’ have taken over the lease of The Royal George in Old Shotton, near Peterlee, Durham, which closed down suddenly in the summer.
The previous owners abruptly shut the pub at the end of July, saying the business was ‘not sustainable’ and could not compete with pub chains.
Nicola and Barry, who live nearby, are renovating the bar area and plan to reopen in mid-October, bringing former manager Kirsty Kitson back to run it.
Nicola said: “We’ve never, ever done anything like this before but it has been closed for over a month and I love the community around the village and we just thought: ‘Why not?’.
“Seaside Travel is all about community so I just think it is the right time to do something else. It looks bad for the village if the pub’s empty.
“It can fit right in with Seaside Travel, as people talk about holidays while they’re sitting having a drink and some really good food.
“I’ll be in the pub, but not behind the bar. We have got some absolutely fantastic people who are going to work there and a brilliant head chef.
“People know we give great customer service at Seaside Travel and I want to reflect that in the pub. We’re excited and can’t wait to open.”
Head of Business and Commercial Paula Gleeson said: “There are two meeting rooms upstairs so we can host our managers’ meetings and tour operator events there. We’ve already been talking about doing theme nights, such as a spotlight on Mexico, with tequila and tacos. We can’t wait.”
