A “drab” Oldham pub with a “very bad reputation” that was facing closure has undergone a huge transformation after two regulars stepped in to save their local.
Brian Mellor and Mark Davenport had been drinking in The Sportsman's Arms, on Denton Lane, for 40 years before pooling their money together to rescue their watering hole in May 2021.
Prior to the takeover, the Chadderton pub was a hotspot for trouble with police officers frequently called to reports of anti-social behaviour and punters cautious of entering.
But now, after a revamp last year and with a familiar face behind the bar, the pub is hoping to welcome back even more regulars with festive events planned.
“It was a drab beforehand and it had a very, very bad reputation, but it’s 100 per cent better than what it was, and it’s getting better and better,” Brian said.
“We’re getting all our older customers back, they had a fear of coming in because of the reputation – they didn’t know if it was going to kick off or not if they came in.
“Customers are feeling comfortable and safe now, in the last 12 months we’ve not had anything – the police thought we were shut. It’s been almost two years since the police last came.”
The pub is now thriving under the ownership of Brian and Mark, who originally had a third partner but he dropped out due to work commitments.
The trio hold a low-profile in the pub where they remain regulars.
Brian said: “We were new to this, we never did anything like this before, we’ve gone through three lots of landlords and ladies but everything’s clicking since we brought Lorna in – now, a bad week is a good week compared to what it used to be.
“We decided to save the pub from closure, but we just want to be like everyone else in the pub. We pooled our money together and took a 12-month contract on and stumbled through covid.
“We are all local. We’re not just putting some in to take a crust, we still come in here to drink and we do the behind the scenes to enable Lorna to do her job.”
Lorna Gowers took over as landlady 12 months ago and, with it being her local, she also used to drink in the freehouse.
The 54-year-old said: “Just like what Brian said, all the old regulars are coming back in. They stopped coming in for five, six, seven, eight years, and they are all back.
“When you used to come in it was quite rough but we’ve had no trouble recently.
“Since we’ve had the revamp we’ve got more opportunities to cater for events, as we’ve got a bit of a stage where they can hire out for funerals, birthdays and what not.”
The dog friendly pub is kitted out with a pizza oven and hosts DJs on Friday nights, live bands on Saturdays, and shows live football.
Brian added: “We’ve been coming in here for 40 years, everyone who works for us, or is involved with us, is from around here.”
On the lead-up to Christmas the Oldham pub is hosting a kid’s party on Sunday December 17 – where children will have the opportunity to meet Santa.
On Christmas day The Sportsman is open from 11.30am till 3pm and five days later, on December 30, it will host an early New Years Eve party.
Think you have a story? I cover every aspect of journalism from businesses saved from closure and now thriving, to those earmarked to open and more. Email me at joe.yates@newsquest.co.uk or direct message me on Twitter @JMYjourno
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