A West Cumbrian businessman is breathing new life into an iconic Whitehaven pub – whose regulars feared would be shut forever.
Graham Wishart plans to officially reopen the Three Tuns, on the corner of Duke Street and Scotch Street, on August 13.
Graham, who has run Skinny Jimmy’s and previously the Lounge in Workington for several years, said it would be business as usual at the pub, which closed during the pandemic.
Work has already started to get the pub ready for its opening night.
It has always been a pub for rock music and live bands and Graham said that would continue. He said: “We get a lot of touring bands in Workington because we’re a stopping off point between Manchester and Scotland – we had an Icelandic band in Workington the other week.
“I want to assure the people who used to come into the pub that it will be the same – we’ll have the jukebox and are looking to restart the pool team back up too – it’ll be cleaned and redecorated, but its heart will remain.”
The building was sold in May by public auction, with a guide price of £50,000. Graham is not the owner, but is leasing the ground floor. He said: “I’m not doing this to become rich. You don’t open a pub to become rich. I’m doing it because I love music. It works in Workington and I kept being asked to try something in Whitehaven. This was the opportunity.”
He added that he wanted to be a good neighbour to the residents living near the pub and wanted to work with them if they had any concerns after the pub had been shut for so long.
When the building was sold, a Facebook group was set up called Three Tuns of Memories, for people to share photos and stories from the pub from days gone by. It has over 600 members.
