Regular becomes manager of favourite pub and now welcomes locals and people from further afield

The Shire Horse is a pub found on the outskirts of Stafford town centre, on the A34 road heading north towards Stone and Stoke-on-Trent and at the junction which leads to junction 14 of the M6 motorway.

While surrounded by roads, the pub has benefitted from being based near a busy industrial estate, which provides it with plenty of passing trade, as well as being near a Premier Inn and a housing estate which was built nearby and which has helped boost trade.

All of this was built around the pub, which first opened its doors 21 years ago on empty land which had previously been occupied by Shire horses, hence the name.

Since then, it has become a popular pub which, under the ownership of pub chain Chef & Brewer and brewers Greene King, has recently undergone a six-figure refurbishment on the interior and exterior.

The inside of the pub has been redecorated, including the addition of new soft, modern furnishings and fittings, designed to create a more vibrant setting, while keeping the more traditional features intact to maintain the traditional pub atmosphere.

The picturesque garden terrace has been landscaped to create a bigger open space, which will include a heated, covered seating area allowing guests to enjoy quality al fresco dining all year round from Chef & Brewer’s extensive new spring menu.

The current manager Darren McCracken has been the manager for four years, but has been a regular at the pub ever since it opened in 2003 and said he was proud to be able to run a pub so close to home for him.

He said: "I've been running pubs for years, with this being my 28th pub that I have run for multiple people, but I've been with Greene King for five years now.

"This pub attracted me as I used to eat here when I was a child and came here with my family, so I've always loved this pub and as a pub manager, you have a number of pubs that you say you've always wanted to run and this one was right up on my list.

"I fell lucky as I was looking for a new job and this became available so it's great for me as I'm local and have always lived in this area, my family are from here, my children go to schools around here and my wife works here."

Mr McCracken said he always had an idea of how he wanted the pub to run, concentrating of quality of service and a friendly welcome, and said that the owners Chef & Brewer allowed him that flexibility, as well as a great team behind him.

The recent refurbishment has seen a new menu introduced, which features items such as cottage pie croquettes, glazed pork belly and Bramley apple tart, as well as a wide selection of burgers, steaks and pub favourites.

As a Greene King pub, the Greene King IPA is the main handpulled pint, with newer beers such as Level Head also being put up on sale, while Mr McCracken said the pub also offered a range of guest ales and drinks.

He said: "The guest beers are dependent on how many beers we sell and we have a policy within the company of the more you sell, the further the range extends for us.

"This pub, along with other Chef & Brewer pubs, will serve the IPA as that's the signature brand, and then we work from there, with three current cask ales on sale."

The pub benefits from passing trade, with people from the nearby Premier Inn coming to the pub, as well as people who have come off the M6 or A34 and people from the nearby housing estate.

Mr McCracken said the mixture of good drink and food was a popular combination, as was the fact that the pub was a comfortable and cosy place to sit down.

He said: "We've made the pub, especially since the renovations, an easy place to come and sit for a meal or sit at the other end of the pub near the fire and have a comfortable place where you can sit with friends and relax in a traditional pub atmosphere.

"It's the sort of pub I'd want to go to as it's very much a relaxed environment and not at all pretentious and we're welcoming to people where they're from the local area or just passing through.

"I think what makes it special is the team we've got here, who are a great bunch of people, and the great service we provide, as well as a brilliant new menu and it's just a warm and welcoming place to be."