We visited a Bloxwich town centre pub which the owner says is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle and be comfortable

The market town has several pubs running along its high street, all full of life and with their own stories to tell, with one in particular being a prime location to meet up with friends or just to escape for a few minutes.

The Prince of Wales has been part of the town for years, sitting between Harrison Street and Market Place, and has a distinctive frontage of brick, Tudor frames and the symbol of the Prince of Wales.

Inside, the pub has a modern look, with wood-panelled flooring, comfy seating, a fireplace and a bar which stretches around the front of the pub, providing plenty of places to buy a drink.

It is run and operated by Joe Dhesi, who took it over in 2019 and spent a lot of time renovating and updating the pub, with lockdowns during Covid giving him more time to freshen up the pub, and since reopening, he said the pub has been well supported by the local community.

Mr Dhesi said he hadn't been in the pub trade before taking on the pub, but said he had always wanted to run his own business and saw an opportunity with the Prince of Wales.

He said: "It wasn't so much an interest in running a pub, more running my own business as I was always hungry to run my own business and grow and I knew that, going forward, I wanted to be self-employed and run my own establishment.

"That could have been anything and this opportunity was given to me by my uncle, who has a few pubs around the area and is very well known in the area, including at the Alma Inn on Bentley Lane.

"He gave me the opportunity to run this place and so I took it, refurbished it and spent all my time and money on getting it right."

Mr Dhesi said that once he got started in the pub trade, he had found he really enjoyed being around it, saying that it was the people who made the pub what it was and describing it as one big comedy show.

The look of the pub since Mr Dhesi took over has changed massively, with the pub completely rewired and replastered and with new TVs and bars added, and he said people would be surprised by the modern feel of the place when they walk in.

He said: "They don't expect to see what they see when they walk in - I've seen people say 'wow' when they come in as it's fresh and I keep on top of the cleaning and it all feels new.

"Once they get in and get settled down and look around and interact with the people, they find it quite cosy and how it feels like a proper pub."

Mr Dhesi said the pub was a freehold, so he had freedom to pick whatever beer he wanted to sell, although he said real ale hand pulls were not part of the pub as he had found it wasn't selling enough to justify it.

Anyone looking for a drink can get a selection of lagers, bitters and ciders, as well as a well-kept Guinness and what Mr Dhesi describes as a very well-stocked spirits list.

He said: "We have all the gins in a range of different flavours and I will always purchase the new flavours when they come out, as I do with vodka and rums, with spiced, plain and darks rums all very popular.

"I've got the high-end whiskies, from Jamesons to Johnny Walker blue label to Remy Martin XO and Chivas Regal 18-year-old, plus a lot of tequilas that I bought from Mexico myself and every time I travel somewhere, I will bring something back.

"The punters are always surprised as well because they'll see a bottle which they've only ever seen online and they'll find out it was £180 a bottle, so they'll want to try it and they love it."

Mr Dhesi said the Prince of Wales had become more than his livelihood, and said he was thankful to have it in his life.

He said: "Personally, I think the pub is my escape from everything as I go there to get away from everything.

"Sometimes, it's my safe haven and, on top of that, it's my livelihood, so I treat it like my home and it means everything to me as I've been able to do so much with this pub.

"It's enabled me to have a better life and to be able to provide better for my family."