New team… Old SwanBy Phil and Jane Joel
Hello from myself, Phil, my wife Jane, my parents Mike and Karen, and our chef Patrick Seery. We are the new owners of The Old Swan here in The Lee and we’re hugely excited to be so. We took over the pub from Sean and Katie Michaelson-Yates back in mid-November 2007. After just two, albeit frantic, days of ‘moving in’ we opened our doors for the first time.
We were so happy that so many of you took the time to come and see us and make us feel so welcome in the community. From fielding the oft-asked question about our plans for the pub we feel we should use this opportunity to address the answer to you all and, hopefully, put your collective minds at rest.
Simply put, we have no radical changes planned; merely a lick of paint here and some repairs there and some much needed TLC, all of which this beautiful and historic building most earnestly deserves. Of course, we anticipate putting our own stamp on the place, especially with the planned extension – for which Sean and Katie had already gained planning permission. Plus, our chef will be bringing his personality to the menu, but the essence of this warm and welcoming country pub, serving wonderful freshly cooked food made from locally sourced produce, will remain unchanged.
We should point out, however, that despite the apparent rumours to the contrary, we are not closed for refurbishments and nor do we plan to be. All building and repair work will be carried out with the absolute minimum of disruption – anything unforeseen and contrary to this will be well advertised.
On behalf of us all, we would like to thank everyone we’ve met so far for making us so welcome and for giving us their kind wishes of luck and support. We hope, too, to be able to meet many more of you in the coming year. A happy and prosperous New Year to everyone from the team at The Old Swan.