'We are open and ready to welcome you': Staffordshire village micropub has reopened and got welcoming plans beer fans

George Price said he and his team had been running the Olde Vicarage Pub on Bilbrook Road since October last year, following the closure of the pub by the previous owners in September.

He said that while locals and regulars had known about the micropub being open, people in the wider area weren't as sure, due to an issue with Google algorithms which meant that when people searched for the pub, they were getting stories about the previous owners.

He said: "Unfortunately, because of the algorithms and how Google works, it's looking like every time someone searches for it who isn't from around here, it's telling them that we're not open, when we clearly are.

"The local community know that we're open, but just not the wider community, so we need to rectify that.

"We've basically been relying on social media platforms at this point, but we want to continue to see how we can get exposure in different ways."

Mr Price said that since taking over the running of the pub, he had made a few changes, such as a full food kitchen in the back garden, but felt that the community nature of the Olde Vicarage was what made it special.

He said: "There's the beauty of this pub as it's so community-led, sitting in the heart of Bilbrook village, and people like the traditional feel and the traditional ales and feel more at home and more comfortable here.

"It's a wet-led drinkers pub, but with the addition of the food offerings from the Vicar's Kitchen, we've been able to attract a different demographic, which adds to the experience as people can have a drink and some nicely prepared and cooked food.

"We also have an Olde Vicarage darts team who are performing well each week and that gives us the benefit of the touring teams coming here and that gets us new audiences from around the area, all of which has helped us."

Mr Price said the regulars and people who had drunk in the pub before had been very complementary about the way the pub was being run.

He also said that being able to run a pub like the Olde Vicarage was very important due to keeping the pub industry alive.

He said: "We've got to keep these going in the community as we know there are pubs closing down left, right and centre and if we lose places like this, people will suffer as they will lose a place that they can come to and have a conversation with people.

"Micropubs are good because they offer a replacement to a major pub that might have closed down and they keep popping up in unusual places because there's always a need for them.

"I would say to people that we have fabulous bar staff and fantastic beers, ales, wines and spirits and a venue which is just two minutes from the railway station and in a great location, so come on down and have a nice pint."