A Suffolk pub which closed five months ago after the company running it collapsed is set to reopen under new management.
Stock & Bailey Catering is planning a soft opening for The Hadleigh Ram - probably in late September.
The pub-restaurant shut its doors in April 2019 after Stuart Inns - the company behind the previous operator which was involved in a legal wrangle with the taxman - hit problems.
Now Sudbury-based Stock & Bailey - which is owned by chefs Paul Bailey and Ashley Stock - has taken on the leasehold for a year - with hopes of extending its tenure if all goes well. The building is owned by pubs and brewery giant Greene King.
MORE - Family business behind The Hadleigh Ram and Long Melford Swan calls in administrators"We are trying it out but we are hoping to stay if all goes well," said Mr Bailey.
The move follows the pair's successful re-launch of the Lavenham Greyhound in April - which was also previously managed by Stuart Inns and closed - and is now subject to a longer five-year leasehold agreement with Greene King. The project has gone so well, that they felt willing to try out the Ram, he explained.
"We are so excited about The Ram. It's a beautiful old building. It still looks great," he said. "It's a great site and it really suits our concept."
The firm, which has been going for about five years and employs 14 full-timers and about 30 part-timers, and runs a wine bar in Colchester and a restaurant in Sudbury, is also involved in catering for events, including Le Mans and high end weddings.
"The Greyhound was a big success and the Hadleigh Ram is a lovely site," said Mr Bailey.
"We have been open for four months and it has been an amazing success. I can't believe how busy we have been. On Wednesday lunchtime we had 70 covers. We are just so busy there."
Customers appeared to be responding well to their 'all-day' approach to food, enabling them to come and go at will, he said. "We'll do a full lunch service, and carry on throughout the day."
If all goes to plan and the business there goes well, the firm hopes to be in a position to purchase the freehold on the building at Hadleigh, he added.
"We are hoping to open next week. We'll open it softly for people to come and try it.
"Lots of people are very excited that we are taking on another site."
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