Who Are We, Then? Let Us Introduce Ourselves

There's been a fair bit of guessing about who's taken the club on - and somewhere along the line a few people decided we must be a couple of investors down from London. We had to laugh. There's nothing remotely southern about us.

We're two friends who've known each other more than 30 years. Michelle is Stoke born and bred - grew up here, never left, knows the area inside out. Simon's from Sunderland, so between us there's a fair bit of friendly North-versus-Midlands banter, but we're both proper northern and proud of it.

We're not a faceless company and we're not strangers passing through. We're two mates who saw a building that meant something to this area going to waste, and decided to do something about it. When the doors open you'll find us behind the bar, on the floor, sorting the bookings - whatever needs doing. We'll be here.

We can't wait to meet you all properly. Until then, if you've a question, or just want to say hello, there's a contact form on the home page - we read every message ourselves.