00:00The pull here isn't just nostalgia, this corner site has anchored working life in Digberth
00:05for more than a century, and its closure earlier this year felt like a warning about rising
00:10costs and fragile margins. Reopening matters if it brings steady work, keeps money in the
00:15area and proves that a listed pub can still pay its way without hollowing out its character.
00:21The plan on Paypatty's leaner operations is a sharper offer and tighter cost control.
00:26The question is whether that adds up across a full year, not just launch night, new steward
00:31Peter Connolly takes that head on.
00:34We are seeing a really hard time for hospitality at the moment, and we're seeing lots of venues
00:40gearing towards being experiences, but I think ultimately what's been lost in that is that
00:46going to the pub, going to a pub is in itself the experience. Some people do just want to
00:52go to a building that's got a terracotta front on it, that's got castgales, it's got brass,
00:59it's got wallpaper that's three times as old as the Barstaff, it's got all the little nooks
01:04and crannies and snugs and timber and pine and all the bits of a proper boozer. That in
01:13itself is almost becoming a novelty now to find. Heritage only earns its keep if people
01:18use it. This building carries the James and Lister Lee stamp with terracotta outside and
01:23etched glass within. Keeping that intact while meeting modern rules isn't simple. Accessibility,
01:30seller systems, extraction, safety all have to fit the shell without turning it into a
01:35theme piece. Viewers will judge with their feet not a listing description, so the test is
01:40simple. Does this place still feel like the anchor and what changed to make it workable
01:45in 2025? So I suppose in terms of heritage elements, the pub itself is a heritage element.
01:52It is a grade two listed, gorgeous building. It's got all those pub features. It's very much
02:01a pub. You look at it, you go, it's a pub. It is exactly what you'd expect a pub to look like.
02:07Digbeth is shifting fast. Studios, venues and a new residence mixing with along standing
02:12Irish roots. A pub in that cross-current can knit a community together or get pulled into
02:18chasing passing trade. The risk is drift to losing regulars while trying to be everything
02:22to everyone. If this relaunch backs routine over hype, it helps the street feel safer and
02:28busier at the right hours. That matters for neighbours as much as drinkers, so how does the programme
02:33look beyond opening week? So we're working hand in hand with local suppliers. There's people
02:40living local to here that will need a good pub to go to. And there's a history of people
02:45that used to drink in here under the previous landlord and under the landlord before that
02:49that are really keen to come back in and drink in here. So I think promoting the Irish quarter
02:54is an entertainment quarter. Somewhere to come and have a really nice pint is really important.
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