Progress at the Bear and Ragged Staff

New General Manager Nicholas Friar

Much work has been going on behind the still rather sad exterior of the Bear and Ragged Staff. But don't be deceived, what is going on inside is very exciting! A General Manager has been appointed – Nicholas Friar. He is Chester born and bred, and has worked in Chester and Manchester, in the restaurant and bar trade and has run his own restaurant. So he has a wealth of experience to bring to this project which all of us have been waiting for.

The Bear & Ragged Staff will be a Gastro Pub that centres around attentive service, quality cooking and a wide range of drinks offerings with community, family and friendship at its heart. The aim is to provide the villagers a warm and welcoming space within walking distance, a place to hang out with friends, have a good meal and relaxed evening without driving out of the village.

The programme to complete the fit out of the building is accelerating in anticipation of opening next month and Nic is actively looking to build the chef's team, servers and beer staff. Prior experience is less important for junior roles; personality and attitude is what he's looking for because excellent training will be given. An employment open day is being held on Saturday March 15th . Contact nicholas@hereandnow.industries to register attendance for the open day.

The plan is to have a soft launch weekend. It will be drinks led with a small but original bar menu, allowing the staff team to be trained and systems up and running before opening up the restaurant within a few weeks of the initial opening.

The work upstairs at The Bear on the 8 en-suite rooms and function room will be completed in the Summer. Many original features are being added by an extremely talented artisan tradesman using materials from the original building, photos have been promised in a future release. Further into the future the rear garden will also be developed to include a play area for young children.

Let us hope that Nic and the enthusiastic local team of builders, electricians, plumbers, plasterers and painters will have the pub ready to open by the end of April, if not sooner!

WeLoveTattenhall