Digbeth’s Anchor pub reopens with jobs and heritage on the line

Local TV

Digbeth’s Grade II listed Anchor pub has reopened after closure, with new steward Peter Connolly outlining how the business will keep its character, create jobs, and stay viable amid rising costs. We test the plan, the restoration, and the impact on Bradford Street and the Irish Quarter.

Transcript

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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