Three long-standing locals take over pub in hope of turning it into ‘one of the best in Northampton’

Three long-standing locals have taken over a pub, in the hope of turning it into “one of the best in Northampton”.

The Bold Dragoon, a public house and fresh food restaurant in High Street, Weston Favell, is reopening on Friday, November 17.

After around nine weeks closed and undergoing a huge transformation to bring their vision to life, it has felt like a long time coming for the three new owners.

Mark Parry, Ian Bishop and Russell Johnson have been locals at The Bold Dragoon for decades.

Mark and Ian were previous business partners in a joinery company before taking on this project, and Russell has been a friend of Mark’s for more than 45 years.

It was April last year when the trio took over the venue and started gradually doing it up. It began with the toilets in April, the bar area in June and the lounge in October.

Since then, they had been waiting for their plans to be approved – to extend and “make it one of the best pubs in Northampton”.

The venue will have been closed for around nine weeks by the time it reopens next month and when asked how it feels that the renovations are in their final stages, Mark said: “It’s fantastic.

“It took a long time but everyone working with us has committed to it, it’s outstanding.”

Everyone who has commented on the pub’s renovation says they cannot believe how quick the place has been turned around – and Mark says this comes down to “everybody’s input”.

Customers can expect the pub to be “very fresh” when they return, and the owners have tried to follow a theme linking back to the Bold Dragoon military organisation in the First World War.

Talking about the food and drink that will be on offer, Mark said: “Everything’s completely changed and there’s something for everyone. We’ve got extensive vegan, vegetarian and meat products.

“We’ll have a selection of Heineken as they’re our lead brewer, and Carlsberg products too.”

The venue is also affiliated with CAMRA, meaning any beer drinkers associated with the organisation will receive a discount when they visit The Bold Dragoon.

Seven real ales will be available at any one time, and these will change every so often.

Mark believes it is the “ambience and atmosphere” that will set them apart from other venues across the town, with people having already said they sensed a difference between the trio taking over last April and the closure for refurbishment.

“We can sense the difference and our punters tell us,” said Mark, who is proud that the venue now sees more families through the door than ever before.

Mark began frequenting The Bold Dragoon 35 years ago and when asked if he thought he would ever take over, he said: “Never ever in a million years. I always thought it would be my local.”

He shared that many people hoped someone would step in, buy the venue and invest in doing it up, as no changes had been made for around two decades.

Ian has been a local for around four decades, having seen many owners come and go over the years.

The opportunity for Mark, Ian and Russell to take over came up after the previous owner sadly suffered a heart attack – and Mark was in the venue at the time.

Alongside two others, Mark raised the alarm and got the owner the help he needed. After he recovered, the owner said he owed Mark a “big favour” and that he “would not be here without him”.

Mark was offered the chance to buy the pub, just as he and Ian had received an offer on their joinery business.

This gave them the finances they needed to take over The Bold Dragoon and Mark described the “incredible” timing.

Keep your eyes peeled for a picture preview of The Bold Dragoon on the Chronicle & Echo website, ahead of its reopening on Friday, November 17.