A COUNTY Durham pub is back in business after being closed for more than eighteen months – and it has a new owner, as well as a new name.
The Bishops Lodge in Toronto village, near Bishop Auckland, has just reopened its doors following a refit and a recent change of ownership.
Formerly known as the Toronto Lodge, the pub had been forced to close in March 2020 following the first lockdown and had remained shut.
But the pub, which is now owned by local businessman, Peter Martin and run by pub manager, Andrew Carroll, finally reopened to customers last Friday.
Explaining the pub had been given a new lease of life, Mr Carroll said residents and patrons had been "over the moon" as it proved a hit on its first day in action.
Mr Carroll said: "It was a fantastic experience to be part of - it was finally nice to see people through the doors as we opened on Friday."
With a capacity of just under 100 people, the pub has retained many of the staff who worked under the former name before its takeover in September 2020.
The pub, which has seen its layout changed, interior refreshed and even a brand new bar area added, has been transformed into a gastropub-style venue.
The pub has also seen its menu overhauled with daily 'specials' and food sourced locally, while the bar now includes a larger range of alcohol and cocktails.
Mr Carroll said: "We've been very welcomed, the reaction from people has been great, the locals are over the moon that their pub is open again too.
"A lot of people loved what Tavistock (former owner) did, but there hasn't been a single person that has walked through that door and hasn't enjoyed the food."
But admitting that the name change, which has proved controversial with other pubs in the past, Mr Carroll said it was necessary.
He said: "Bishops Lodge just came to us, under it's old name it didn't really open it up to everybody.
"We're sure people will still call it Toronto Lodge and we don't mind, but officially we are Bishops Lodge and it establishes us as a new business - and gives it a fresh lease of life."
The pub, which currently employs a mix of a dozen staff - with many from its Tavistock days, is priding itself of providing "restaurant-quality" meals.
Almost all ingredients are brought in fresh and locally-sourced, and deliveries of fresh fish are received daily, while a new 'specials' board has been added.
Paul Vest, head chef, said: "The feedback so far has been incredible. We’d rather do 60 people properly than get really high numbers and see standards slip."
“Everything here is done properly, you can't rush anything - everything comes in fresh on a morning. It's just pub food done to a high level."
Mr Vest's comments were echoed by owner Peter Martin, who also owns the Travellers Rest in Witton Gilbert and Herdsman in North Cowton, Northallerton.
He said: "This group all started with the Travellers Rest - we genuinely wanted to do a good job with a nice pub, with nice people, serving up good food.
"It's important for the community to have a pub and Bishops Lodge needed a bit of TLC, we went in, revamped the menu and retained as many staff as possible."
"We genuine want to do a good job, it's not all about the money - we just enjoy it, we're all like minded people - if you do a good job, they’ll come back."
The Bishops Lodge opens between 12pm and 11pm on Wednesday to Saturday and between 12pm and 10pm on Sunday.
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