'It's been amazing': Historic Staffordshire village pub begins new life after reopening

There was a happy feeling in the air among drinkers and staff alike as a popular village pub on the edge of the Staffordshire countryside reopened after months of closure.

The Greyhound in Lower Penn had laid dormant for five months, but was a hive of activity on its opening night on Thursday, October 15 under new management, with plenty of cars filling the car park and people in both the bar and the lounge enjoying the drinks on offer.

Kingswinford and South Staffordshire MP Mike Wood had been down earlier in the day to cut the ribbon and help bring new life to a pub which had closed suddenly in May and had seemed lost to the community around it.

The new licensees, mother and son Dawn and Matt Hogg, both have connections to the Greyhound, with Matt having worked behind the bar and Dawn having been a customer, and both said they had enjoyed the first day.

Matt said: “I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been nice to see a lot of locals and the community coming back in.

“We signed the contracts at the end of September and I know that a lot of the regular group who have been coming here have been interacting with me and asking when we’re reopening.

“I think it might have been nice to be able to reopen a bit sooner, but we are here now and it’s good to be here.”

Dawn said: “There’s been a lot of excitement and we wanted the pub to feel like the community, back in the community for the community.

“It’s been amazing today and I remember it as a customer, coming in here when Matt was working here and we would come just to enjoy the food and become regulars.

“People have been telling me about their memories of this place, such as having first dates here, meeting husbands and having their receptions here, so the community hold fond memories of this place.”

The pair said that the new food offering would begin on Sunday, with three new chefs working to provide a varied and locally sourced menu, including a regular Sunday lunch and were also looking at other ways to bring people in.

Dawn said: “The food is going to be made from scratch, not brought in and reheated, and I think that’s important as the food, in the past, was the best in the area and we’re going back to that with the chefs who worked here before.

“It’s an exciting time, with people sharing pictures with us and memories of the pub, and we’re going to star doing things like quiz nights and opening up during the day for people working from home, so offering coffee and cake and things like that.

“We’re also looking at doing afternoon teas, because the chefs bake all the cakes, and we’re open to ideas as people have been looking for somewhere they can go during the daytime to meet their friends.”

Matt said: “We’re opening the restaurant on Sunday, with the booking system opening up, and then we’ve got loads of ideas and evenings that we’re looking to promote and test out.

“A mentionable one is a continental night every fortnight or so, with a different theme and other things that will ring the people together.

“What I would say to people is if you’re part of the local community, this is a place we’d like you to come to as we want to reconnect everything back to the heart of the village.”