Member Article

Sunderland Pub Kept in the Family

A Sunderland pub will be staying in the family as a long held ambition becomes a reality thanks to £130k of funding from NatWest.

Sara Wilson, landlady of the Museum Vaults pub on Silksworth Row for the last five years, will purchase the pub from current owners Punch Taverns after 30 years of it being under the management of her parents.

In 1978, Sara’s Mum and Dad, Fred and Elsie Wilson, were made redundant at the city’s Plessey factory and took on the pub; starting out with just two kegs of beer and a tray of tomato juices.

Punch Taverns’ are the UK’s largest pub operator and through their ongoing strategy of offloading saleable pubs they offered Sara the chance to purchase the business outright. The Museum Vaults is a former Vaux Brewery pub and specialises in quality beers and cask ales.

Sara, who took over joint responsibility for the pub when her father Fred died suddenly in 1988, said of the deal: “The pub has been such a big part of my family for such a long time and we never thought we could actually own it. We have a lot of loyal customers and serve a lot of local students and football fans. Owning the pub means we can continue to offer them exactly what they want – a quality pint.”

Sara’s Mum Elsie said: “I think it’s fantastic that, after all this time, we can call the pub our own. I will be offering all my experience to Sara and I’ll help out with covering shifts but I know she will continue the good work for many years to come.”

Dominic Duke, NatWest Relationship Manager, Business and Commercial Banking said: “These are exactly the types of businesses we are looking to support at this time. The family have proven over three decades that this is a well run, popular pub and that wealth of experience the have built up will only serve to improve what they can offer to their customers. It has been a pleasure to help make this happen for Sara and her Mum.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matthew Evans .