Local community pub, the Rising Sun in Chelmsford, reopened yesterday 21st April, following a significant combined investment of £300,000 from leading community pub company, Admiral Taverns and brand-new licensee, Evan Eksteen.
Working with Admiral, who own 1,600 pubs across the UK, Evan has given the pub a new lease of life just in time for the summer months. When the sun shines, locals and visitors will be able to enjoy a spacious beer garden, seating up to 50 people, which has been fitted with a brand-new pagoda, as well as wooden benches and atmospheric lighting. To help residents enjoy the space during the winter months, heaters have also been installed underneath the pagoda.
In keeping with the pub’s history, Evan has restored its iconic wooden floor and existing brick work to their former glory, modernizing it with new statement wallpaper, lighting and furniture.
Weekly Thursday quiz nights are being introduced, as well as quarterly comedy evenings for locals to come in and enjoy with their friends and families.
Following a career as an investment manager, Evan moved to hospitality and has 20 years of experience in the industry. He is a passionate operator with a talent for running new businesses and unlocking their potential. His focus is on ensuring the Rising Sun is the “go-to” social hub for the community and looks forward to reintroducing this iconic venue to residents and their four-legged friends.
Evan Eksteen, Licensee of the Rising Sun, said: “I get a huge sense of satisfaction out of giving back to a community and taking over the Rising Sun has offered me the perfect opportunity to do just that. I want to make the pub an inclusive space where everyone feels welcome to stop in anytime, no matter the occasion. Thanks to this incredible refurbishment, there is a new dawn for the Rising Sun and I’m very excited for the future of the pub.”
The Rising Sun boasts a fantastic selection of draught lagers and ales including Heineken, Pravha, Guinness, an American IPA and a Brighton-based real ale. A tantalizing new cocktail menu will also be available for customers to sample, in addition to a wide selection of wines and spirits. Additionally, the licensee will introduce small pop-up food offerings such as pizzas and barbeques as the British summer approaches.
Admiral Taverns’ Business Development Manager, Mick Sheridan, commented: “Evan has done a fantastic job with the Rising Sun and we’re very pleased to have him on board at Admiral. The pub has got so much character and is oozing personality thanks to all the work Evan has put in. I’m really looking forward to seeing it shine and the residents make the most of it.”
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
Admiral Taverns (“Admiral”), is the UK’s number one community pub group. Headquartered in Chester, the Group operates a national estate of c.1,600 predominantly wet-led community pubs. Admiral’s unique operational approach has earnt industry recognition with the Group awarded Best Leased and Tenanted Pub Company in 2019, 2016 and 2013 and ranked highly commended as Best Community Pub Operator in 2017. The Group has also been consistently highly rated by licensees in the industry’s independent annual Tenant Track survey, exceeding the scores of all its national peers, as well as by the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA), who in its 2022 annual report, highlighted Admiral Taverns as leading from the front in terms of support for its licensees during the pandemic.