Tag Archives: Sun Inn

Stafford Veterans Pull First Pint

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Familiar faces from the 1970s and 80s were back behind the bar as Titanic Brewery celebrated the opening of the Sun Inn, Stafford.

Former landlords Ashley Howard, 79, and Brian Deakin, 76, jointly pulled a celebratory first pint to mark the rebirth of the Sun.

The historic town centre pub was a favourite destination for pub-goers for decades but has been shut in recent times after an attempt to run it as a wine bar. Staffordshire based Titanic Brewery bought the building earlier this year and has restored it as a traditional style pub.

Brian Deakin, of Weeping Cross, Stafford, licensee from 1975 until 1994, said, ‘Titanic has done a wonderful job. The alterations have been carried-out in a very tasteful way and I wish the pub every success for the future.’

Keith Bott, Managing Director of Titanic Brewery, paid his own tribute to Mr Howard and Mr Deakin saying, ‘These are guys who ran proper pubs and, as a brewery and an industry, we would like to see more proper pubs opening in future years.’

Keith and Dave Bott who were brought up in Stafford and Keith said, ‘the opening of the Sun as a special day as it was among the first town centre pubs he visited as a young man.’

The Sun Inn, which is number 5 in the Titanic Brewery fleet, officially opens at 1200 today.

Staffords Sun Inn To Use Alternate Energy

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Titanic has become among the first breweries to install cutting edge equipment to chill its beer and provide heat for customers.

The Burslem brewer has teamed up with Geo Bar as part of the development of the Sun Inn, Stafford, which opens to the public next Thursday (22 July).

The Geo Bar heat recovery system takes excess heat created by pubs’ chilling equipment ““ which is usually expelled outside the building and lost – and uses it to heat water, either for direct use or in the heating system.

As well as saving money on energy bills, the Sun Inn will save 34,230kg of C02 emissions every year – the equivalent of 750 journeys from Stafford to London and back in a family car, or planting eight football pitches of rain forest.

Keith Bott, Managing Director of Titanic Brewery, said, ‘We are among the first in the country to install this energy saving system and the very first new pub to do so. It fits in with our philosophy of helping to conserve energy where possible to help the environment. We support the movement towards localism, buying local food for our pub customers where possible to cut down on food miles.’

Sun Shines On Stafford As The Bott Boys Are Back In Town

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Stafford born brothers Keith and Dave Bott will fulfill an ambition with the re-opening of an historic Stafford pub.

The Sun Inn, Lichfield Street, Stafford, has been lovingly restored to its former glory by Titanic Brewery, owned by Keith and Dave Bott.

The Sun will open for business at 12 noon on Thursday, 22 July.

It will be the fifth pub in the Titanic fleet and the fourth to be opened by the Stoke-on-Trent brewer since 2007.

Managing Director Keith Bott said:

“We now have five pubs and have become used to opening new venues in recent years, but reviving the Sun Inn is special.

“We both drank in the pub regularly as young men and like many local residents were saddened to see it decline and close.”

Titanic’s expansion plan has bucked the trend of pub closures across Staffordshire and the UK. All five of the brewery’s fleet were boarded-up and dis-used before Titanic stepped in to rescue them.

After trading as a traditional style inn for most of its life, the Sun, in Lichfield Road, has recently operated as Tequila Red.

But Titanic has dispensed with the garish paint work and wine bar fittings to make the Sun shine once again.

The brewery has created a replica of the Sun’s former pub sign which is being hung from the original wrought ironwork on the front of the pub. The original sign, which is damaged, will be on display inside the pub.

Titanic has built a reputation for opening traditional community pubs. Keith added:

“We have worked hard to revamp the Sun as a traditional welcoming pub where people of all ages can enjoy a great range of beer and good quality locally sourced food in comfortable surroundings.”

Stoke-on-Trent Brewery Titanic Open Number Five

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The thriving Titanic Brewery based in Burslem Stoke-on-Trent, which was recently short-listed for Multiple Operator of the Year award by the Publican newspaper has completed a deal to buy the freehold of the historic Stafford pub formerly known as the Sun Inn.

The Sun Inn will be the fifth pub in Titanic’s fleet joining,

  • The Bulls Head, St John’s Square, Burslem
  • The Greyhound, George Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme
  • The White Star, Kingsway, Stoke
  • The Royal Exchange, Radford Street, Stone

The Stoke-on-Trent brewery had just one pub until 2007 and its ambitious expansion plans have bucked a national trend of closures.

The deal to take on the Sun is a personal landmark for brewery owners, Keith and Dave Bott, as the brothers grew up in the County Town.

After trading as a traditional style inn for most of its life, the Sun, in Lichfield Road, has recently operated as Tequila Red. The Titanic Brewery has built a reputation for opening traditional community pubs and is set to return the Sun to its former glories.

Dave Bott said, ‘We are excited to be taking on the Sun Inn. Our plans are still being finalised but we will establish a welcoming pub where people of all ages can enjoy a great range of beer and good quality local food in comfortable surroundings.’

Mr Bott said the newly refurbished Sun Inn is on course for a late June opening.