McMullen, the family brewer based in Hertford, has partnered with its tenants to complete a joint £275,000 investment into The Dog & Whistle in Hertford, formerly The Ram, with the opening of its renovated rooms. These rooms provide the finishing touches to the eclectic, vintage theme of the pub after a considerable refurbishment took place in order to galvanise the local establishment.
Owners Yvette Wheeler and Ricky Harding first opened the doors to the new look Dog & Whistle in November 2013, and now have completed the transformation of the pub with the opening of five boutique rooms above the pub. They are minimalistic in style, with comfy Scandinavian themed sofas and decorations. This makes the rooms feel very bright and clean which is proving popular with the visitors.
The site, which now has a cool and stylish vintage feel is offering an ever changing menu of different foods from around the world, a drinks selection of bespoke liquor and cocktails now combined with the convenience of staying above the pub. This success completes their ethos of ‘eat, drink, sleep’ in Hertford Town.
The couple now look to make the most of the successful live music night which had proved a big hit in their previous venture, a vintage emporium and café and bring it to a larger capacity venue, with ‘bring your own vinyl’ Tuesdays, and live music Thursdays. These evenings have proved a real hit for the pub with acts such as Huey Morgan from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, and DJ Norman Jay already featuring.
McMullen’s enthusiasm to let Yvette and Ricky have the freedom to stamp their personality on the site is demonstrative of the brewery’s encouraging, positive relationships with its tenants, and comes after they worked with one of their other tenants to develop The Woodman, a traditional country pub in nearby Broxbourne Woods, into a Mediterranean themed pub renamed The Woodman & Olive.
Fergus McMullen, Production and Sales Director of McMullen, comments: “This uniquely styled pub is a fantastic asset to Hertford. The rooms now look incredibly stylish and I’m sure they will help bolster Yvette and Ricky’s trade in the town and make it even more of a destination pub for visitors to the area. We’ve loved working with them to create such an individual, eclectic venue. We’re always keen to invest in great tenants to maintain the competitive advantage our tenancies enjoy, and are sure The Dog & Whistle will be a real success.”
Yvette commented: “Now that the rooms are finished our dream pub is complete. It is great that we have been able to bring something different to Hertford, and the locals have been very supportive. Everyone at McMullen has been fantastic in giving us such freedom to be creative with the pub and its offering.”
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Notes to Editors
About McMullen
McMullen is a family brewer with nearly 200 years of brewing heritage, based in Hertford, England. McMullen brews eight different beers which act as the ‘flag’ for the business, and are available exclusively through its pubs – the company operates 42 tenanted pubs, 9 POAs and 80 managed outlets, including six Baroosh style bars, the first of which opened in Hertford in 2000. The majority of McMullen pubs and bars are located in the northern Home Counties, from central London to Chelmsford in the East, to Windsor in the West and to Cambridge in the North.
McMullen prides itself on the excellent opportunities it offers those who work in its pubs, and is committed to recruiting the very best partners, whatever the role they will play. McMullen realises that the key to any successful pub is having well motivated, passionate people as its tenants, and is always looking to work those with an entrepreneurial spirit, even if they don’t have industry experience. McMullen offers its tenants comprehensive training to ensure they have the tools to do the job confidently and properly.
For all McMullen press enquiries please contact:
Sarah Featley, elliotts
T: 01296 714745 e: sarah@elliottsagency.com