Investing in the future of the Blue Bell
This popular village inn certainly has the wow factor following its extensive makeover, carried out over a six week period after an investment of £288,000
“Wow, just wow,” says business owner Chris Lundean, when asked what he reckons to his newly-refurbished pub – The Blue Bell at Stoney Stanton - which he runs with his wife, Jade.
It’s hard to disagree. This popular village inn certainly has the wow factor following its extensive makeover, carried out over a six week period after an investment of £288,000 from Everards.
“We sit here in the morning and have a coffee and look around and it really is a pub to be proud of,” continues Chris.
The refurbishment has given The Blue Bell a fresher, more modern look, whilst retaining the pub’s traditional charm and cosy atmosphere. Work has included the removal of a fireplace which has opened up a previously unused space, the replacement of the toilets and new décor, lighting and flooring throughout.
Jade and Chris had a lot of input into the refurbishment, choosing the colours and key design elements
- such as a musical theme in one area - before letting Everards’ designers work their magic.
“The Everards team and the construction team throughout the refurbishment have been amazing,” says Jade.
The couple – who have both been in the pub trade for more than 20 years – came to The Blue Bell as managers in March 2017, and according to Jade, soon gained a strong reputation for being experienced operators and offering a warm welcome to all. When the opportunity to become business owners arose in September 2023, it was, says Jade, “the final piece in the puzzle.”
She says that going from being managers to being business owners was made easier thanks to the disciplines they already had in place. “When we were in managed houses, we had to file our accounts every week, we had to make sure all our banking was done on time and all our invoices were collated. Because we’ve got that background and we’ve carried on doing those things, it’s been hugely helpful.
“I think anyone taking on a tenancy needs to understand that being disciplined with your time during the day is key. All of our cellar work, our event planning, our ordering, is done before we open,” says Jade, who adds that the support they have received from Everards ever since they first came to the pub has been “absolutely brilliant.”
“During Covid times, Everards was fantastic – no rent and then when we opened with restrictions, only minimal rent. We’ve had a lot of support, particularly from Matt, the business relationship manager, who’s been fantastic,” says Chris, likening Everards to an extended family, where everyone helps one another out.
“When we took over, we agreed with Everards that work needed doing. The pub was well looked after, but it was looking tired.
I didn’t have any idea that Everards would go the whole hog and do everything we asked for,” says Jade, adding that she’s still walking around gazing in awe at the new-look pub.
“Everybody in the village has been really supportive and we’ve had so much positive feedback. The re-opening party was amazing. We recognised most of the people that came in, but we’d never seen them all on the same day except for carnival day.”
The pub holds lots of events, including live music nights, open mic nights, charity quiz nights, and charity singo bingo nights – featuring songs instead of numbers - with genres including 80s music and TV themes. “You’ve never seen fun until you’ve seen a whole pub singing the theme tune to Postman Pat” laughs Jade, who describes running pubs as a vocation.
“It’s a way of life, not a job, and we love it,” Jade says. “We like being there for people. We like the fact that everyone knows they can come in here and enjoy some company.”
“We’ve had city pubs, we’ve had town pubs, but this is best community-spirited pub we’ve ever been in,” adds Chris. Chris & Jade,
The Blue Bell Stoney Stanton Business Owners
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