Alan and Sarah: 15 years of pubs, people and plenty of laughter

The Black Horse at Aylestone has been synonymous with its charismatic business owners, Alan and Sarah, for the last 15 years.

As well as enhancing the offering at this popular community pub, they’ve established the thriving Laughter Loft comedy club, which has hosted an array of big names including Joe Lycett, Russell Kane, Seann Walsh and Sara Pascoe.

Now, the pair have decided the time is right for a new adventure, and will be serving their last customers on September 6.

As Alan explains, leaving the pub is a huge move for them, but it is one they have been preparing for since 2020.

“We made the decision during the covid pandemic that we were going to leave. The pandemic gave us the chance to spend more time together - like having dinner in the garden together every day - and it was great.

“We decided when we signed the most recent contract with Everards that it would be our last, so we told Everards and we told our key staff,” says Alan.

“The mad thing is, we love the job, and I think we love it more now than we’ve ever loved it. To walk out will be very emotional. I think Kleenex will do some good business that last week!”

Creating their vision for The Black Horse

For Alan, The Black Horse has been the 13th pub he has run, having taken on his first pub, in Derby, at the age of 22. A large portion of his career was spent in West Bridgford, including 12 years at The Test Match.He and Sarah were running a pub in Quorn when we approached them, and gave them the opportunity to take on The Black Horse. Alan recalls visiting the pub about a dozen times, to get a feel for the place, before they signed on the dotted line in June 2011.

“Everyone had told us it was a nice pub, and we just wanted it to be two things – one, a London tavern with lots of cask ales and two, more female friendly.

“The vision we had is very much what you see, with great staff, who are paid well, going that extra yard.”

From Leicester Comedy Festival to the Laughter Loft

Talking about how the Laughter Loft came about, Alan says it was our Operations Director Erika Hardy who suggested they could become involved with Leicester Comedy Festival, and so the first shows were held as part of that event.

Although, according to Alan, the initial gigs didn’t attract many people, they gradually gained more and more of a reputation for comedy. This was enhanced when they teamed up with promoter and comedian Jonathan Elston.

“Where it really blew up was post-pandemic. We’d get 150 people in the garden," recalls Alan.

“Russell Kane was the one who flipped it for us. Then one night we had Sara Pascoe, Omid Djalili and Simon Brodkin! We announced the first one, but after that, we kept the acts a secret. I’ll miss that feeling of introducing the act and then everyone going crazy."