J D Wetherspoon to return to West Bromwich after three years

Pub giant J D Wetherspoon is returning to West Bromwich, three years after closing its last branch in the town.

The chain has bought the former Queen Inn Cookhouse & Pub in Congregation Way, one of 66 pubs and restaurants closed by Whitbread last month as part of a restructuring plan.

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Eddie Gershon, spokesman for J D Wetherspoon, said the company would be investing £1 million in the new bar and restaurant.

He said the company had set a launch date of January 18.

The company has applied for a licence to serve drinks until 12.30am Sunday to Wednesday, and until 1am Thursday to Saturday.

A name for the pub has yet to be decided.

J D Wetherspoon’s last pub in the town was The Billiard Hall in High Street, which operated from 1997 to 2023. It is now an independently run sports bar.

Hospitality giant Whitbread announced it would be closing all of its Beefeater, Bar & Block, Table Table and Cookhouse & Pub food-and-drink venues to focus on its Premier Inn hotel chain.

The former Longford House Beefeater in Cannock and and the Brewers Fayre in Stourbridge were saved after being bought by the Queensway Inns chain. The former Bentley Green Beefeater in Willenhall is now up for sale, priced £575,000.