Brakspear, the traditional brewers and country inn operators, are taking charge of a closed pub in Croydon.
Pumped up: Brakspear are about to oversee the re-opening of a pub in South Croydon
Henley-based Brakspear, who trace their company’s history back to 1769, are the freeholders of The Store, on South End, which closed in October last year.
A sign has been pasted to the window of The Store, stating that WH Brakspear and Sons Ltd took possession of the premises earlier this month. No further details of what the company is planning for the pub, or an opening date, have yet been made public, though the venue is now listed among Brakspear’s 125 pubs on the company’s website.
Most Brakspear pubs are traditional-style country inns, most of them in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and the home counties. The closest Brakspear pubs to Croydon are the Prince of Wales on Brixton Hill and the recently refurbished White Bear gastropub in Fickleshole, between Biggin Hill and Warlingham.
All sell the brewers’ own ales, which would represent a significant upgrade from the offer provided by The Store before its closure, where a drive for “gentrification” saw its bar and restaurant prices go up and its beer pumps ripped out.
Period features: The Store’s interiors respected the building’s history
Brakspear currently lists The Store under that name, though they also operate The Joker in Brighton, a name the Croydon venue has had previously, when it was being run in conjunction with the pub of the same name on the south coast.
It became known as The Store in 2019.
Before it was The Joker, The Store was called Bar TXT, Bar R and Bar Rendezvous, in reasonably rapid succession, as its various landlords sought an identity that would appeal and bring in the punters.
Despite several pub closures in the nearby area in recent times, the South Croydon location is not without competition: there’s the Tree House immediately opposite The Store on the other side of South End, while Whelans operates its popular Irish-themed sports bar a little further down the road.
One thing which has, thankfully, remained a constant about the venue through all of its iterations has been the heritage interior tiling from the building’s time as a Sainsbury’s in the early years of the 20th Century, something traditionalists Brakspear are expected to preserve.
Family firm Brakspear claim a dim and distant relationship to Nicholas Breakspear, who in 1154 became Pope, the only Englishman ever to do so. The brewers use a bee symbol taken from Breakspear’s papal seal in their logo.
“We’re passionate about great pubs,” the company says on its website.
“Our family has been running pubs for over 200 years and, while many things have changed in that time, the pub remains at the heart of British life…. We do things differently at Brakspear. We are still family-owned and run, which means we make all our decisions for the long-term benefit of our company, our Brakspear Business Owners and our pub customers.”
Brakspear’s exact plans for the site remain in flux: “The site operates as a tenanted and leased business. Having only very recently regained possession, we are now considering our options for securing a new tenant or leaseholder to operate The Store going forward — one who can deliver the quality offering desired by residents in the South Croydon area and whom we are confident can maintain high standards, in the beautiful building it is.”
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