A Torfaen couple have reopened the pub just around the corner from their home with plans to bring back its “character “and “history” and put “community at the heart”.
Daniel and Tiffany Smart have refurbished the Lower New Inn on Newport Road.
They’ve created around 13 new jobs across the kitchen, bar and table service.
Daniel said: “We’ve been in hospitality collectively now for over 50 years combined, me since I was 14, Tiff the same.
“We moved to New Inn nearly six years ago. We used to come here as regulars every Friday and really, really loved it and fell in love with the pub, the space, the history.
“We love the sense of community. As soon as we moved in, we were welcomed by the entire street, which was lively. It’s amazing. We’ve loved living here, and the same when we came up here [to the pub].
‘Great conversation’
“We used to bring our puppy with us, who is no longer a puppy, but we were just made to feel welcome, great conversation. The kind of normal fuss you’d expect out of a hospitality business.”
He said the pub has had three owners since they moved to the area.
Daniel said: “We saw it as an opportunity to take it back to what it should be; character, history, community at the heart.
“There’s still an element of food, but a space people can just come and enjoy and sit and relax and do and use the space as they fit.
“There’s a wide community out here and just have it as a gathering space, as somewhere that people can go.”
He said their new team of staff have been “absolutely fantastic” during their “on-boarding training” this week.
OAP lunch menu
They have plans for an OAP lunch menu on Wednesdays priced at £7 for two courses and £10 for three courses.
A standard lunch menu will also be available, and a Sunday lunch service from 11am to 6pm. Quiz night will be Thursday from 7.30pm.
Daniel said: “The food quality is going to be really, really high but at a super affordable price. That’s really, really important.
“We’ve had great feedback on Facebook when we’ve released the menu on Facebook, hundreds of likes, hundreds of comments saying it looks really great, but the price point is great too, which is really important to us.”