As soon as Dan Murphy saw that The Honeycomb at Mickleover was in need of new business owners, the experienced bar manager, together with his wife Sam, jumped at the chance to take it on.

“It came up on Facebook and we applied for it straight away,” says Dan, whose mum and dad used to run The Great Northern pub, down the road from The Honeycomb.

“I grew up in Mickleover, so I know the area and I’ve always felt this place has been an ‘ok’ pub. We thought we would be able to do something more with it,” continues Dan, who has aimed to make it more family-friendly, with family fun days now among the line-up of regular events.

Dan and Sam officially took over the popular community pub in July 2025, and say they are delighted with the decision they made.

“It’s been really good. We’ve made it a busier place. We’re going in the right direction,” says Dan. “We’re part of the community and we’ve made subtle changes to make it our own.”

These changes have included refurbishing the lower bar and the toilets, going from one TV to six TVs and adding Sky Sports. The couple have also invested money in the garden and put in new outdoor furniture.

There have been a few minor cosmetic changes in the main bar, such as adding an eclectic mix of tables and chairs, including some with honeycomb design cushions which match the honeycomb pattern wallpaper.

For Dan, taking on the running of the pub has been a natural step, having been involved in the hospitality industry for most of his life. “I grew up in pubs as my mum and dad ran pubs, and I’ve been a manager of places including Fat Cat, Pitcher and Piano, Belgo and Pizza Express, so I’ve been around the branded industry for a long time. I took a small break and came away from it and then 18 months later we took on this place,” he explains.

“I’ve worked in admin, HR, finance, facilities, and I’ve been a project manager,” says Sam who was employed in the logistics industry before she joined husband Dan in running The Honeycomb.

“Taking on this place was something Dan really wanted to do, and I fully supported him 100 per cent. After about eight months, we got to the point where I was able to hand in my notice and now we’re able to do it together.”

“It’s a family-friendly, fun pub, which has community at its heart” says Dan, adding that they hold many fundraising events, raising money for charities such as Air Ambulance and Cats Protection. Monthly karaoke nights and live music nights plus fortnightly quizzes also take place – and are proving very popular with customers.

With The Honeycomb going well, Dan and Sam are now preparing to take on their second pub with Everards. The duo are set to pick up the keys for The Queens Head in Little Eaton in around four weeks’ time.

“We’re in a weirdly fortunate position in that because I’ve been running pubs in town for so long, I had a lot of people that wanted to come and work for me, so we’ve taken on quite a few of them. Now we’ve got a solid team but really there’s too many of us for one pub, so we thought ‘let’s have a look at a second pub!’

“Matt will be leaving here to be the manager there and he’s got us in the background. Hopefully there will be a third pub this time next year!” smiles Dan.

“Our daughter wants a third pub because she says this one’s daddy’s, the new one is mummy’s and she needs one. She’s only 8!”

Talking about what it’s been like working with Everards so far, Dan says: “It’s been hassle-free. We’ve got a really good relationship with Martin and he’s there at the end of the phone if we ever need him. I like the fact that they leave us to it, but they’re there if we need any help.”

As for what he most enjoys about running his own pub, Dan says: “It’s the freedom. I am my own boss and I can do what I want, when I want and we can do things as a family.

“When I was working for other people, I was often working away five days a week and I didn’t get to see my daughter, whereas now I see her every morning and every evening.”

“I like the people,” adds Sam. “I’m such a people person, so it’s been great getting to know everybody.”

Interested in running a pub? Give us a call 0116 201 4260 or get in touch here.