THE NEW landlords of a popular pub on Thornbury High Street have said they are aiming for their new venture to offer a dining experience not yet available in the town.

The White Lion, which closed abruptly ‘with immediate effect’ in April following the departure of the Mezze chain, has reopened its doors, with Malthouse landlady and landlord Julie Walker and Mark Wilson at the helm.

Julie, who is also chairman of Thornbury Pub Watch, said that they had looked to run the Lion for a long time, and now the opportunity has arisen, they wanted to make the most of it.

“The Lion has been here for so long, it is right in the middle of the High Street, so everyone who comes into town sees it. Nothing looks worse than a boarded up pub in the middle of the town,” she said.

“There are also so many people who through their lives have been patrons of the Lion, and since opening we have already had so many people who have come in and said how happy they are we have it up and running again.”

Having reopened the Malthouse in 2016, changing the name from the Knot of Rope to signal their campaign to restore the pub’s reputation, Julie said she hoped they could do the same with the Lion, providing a different, more mature, atmosphere.

“Our aim is to keep the Malthouse as it is, a sports bar with screens, pool table and late night disco,” she said. “The Lion, however will be a completely different venue. No pool tables or anything like that. It will be food orientated, but with a bar.

“We want to cater for everyone, and offer an atmosphere that can cater both for people coming for a good meal and for people out to enjoy a drink.”

With the main focus of the pub’s new-look set to be the food, the new menu, designed by head chef Reece Child, will, according to Julie, be packed with “awesome dirty food”.

“The fact is that Thornbury hasn’t got the offering of the type of food we want to offer,” said Julie.

“Outside we are building a smoke oven, which will smoke the meats to give it a different, exciting flavour.

“If you are a real health fanatic, it probably isn’t the best thing for you,” she joked, “but it is going to taste so good!”

The pub has already opened for business as far as drinks go, but the plan is to open the ‘White Lion Smokehouse’ restaurant next month, starting with an invite-only evening, with plans for a countdown on the pub Facebook page.