04/10/2023
All good things …..
There was a time in the distant past, when the sharing of this post seemed like a lifetime away and yet here we are in the blink of an eye 20 years later and the moment is finally upon us. With mixed emotions we are announcing the closure of the Blue Anchor Buffet and Sunday Carvery on Sunday the 19th November. It’s the end of our journey, and the end of an era. We have completed our lease from start to finish and the time is right for us to step aside. Renewal isn’t a viable option for us and the pub will take its next chapter under new ownership, but absolutely with our full support and best wishes.
We will continue to serve our buffet and Sunday carvery as normal until the 19th November and then we will close for the final time to carry out a mini refurb in-line with the conditions of our lease. That’s 6 weeks from the sharing of this post to make a final visit (or two).
But before we sign off, we really would like to make a few small mentions. We cannot thank our staff enough, both past and present. Without a great team, no business can succeed and we have been blessed with so many outstanding individuals, many of whom have become extremely close friends over the years. Each and every one of those we’ve employed have brought their own strengths and distinctiveness and we are proud to have set so many young people on a pathway for success, appreciating hard work and developing skills and confidence few other jobs provide and in such a diverse way.
Thanks also to you, the customer. So many of you have relentlessly supported us through thick and thin, championing our services and making endless repeat visits. Many of you have become more than just acquaintances and we will definitely miss the conversations. Over the years, we have celebrated the births of so many and sadly we have also mourned the loss of others. We have felt like a part of the family furniture and your great feedback has spurred us on, it truly has fuelled us, we know we haven’t always got it right, but the most important thing is we have always done our best, and with good intentions. We have never taken custom for granted and hope we have succeeded in service more times than we have failed.
Each year we have invested time and money into the refurbishment and upkeep of the pub and can proudly say we leave the place in a significantly better state than when we took it on all those years ago. We have proudly received a Trip Advisor Excellence award every year since 2012, entered their ‘Hall Of Fame’ twice, and fondly recall the years we have been honoured with Lancashire’s Best Kept Pub and a visit from the Lady Mayor to present us with our certificate of achievement. We certainly finish on a high, as we are also now positioned in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide on TripAdvisor, an impressive feat for a small village pub.
With a beautifully unique and mature beer garden, (which we finally hope to enjoy from the other side of the bar), along with a contemporary interior, the pub will be primed and ready for new tenants. So what’s next for us? …well…. first thing’s first, a long overdue break, a much needed holiday, time with family and friends and an opportunity to catch up on so many of the things we have sorely missed out on over the years. We can actually start to look forward to the weekends and bank holidays, it will feel strange, but we’re confident in our ability to adjust :) Running a pub is extremely hard work for sure, it’s more than a full time job, it’s a way of life and for us, that life will never quite be the same. It’s impossible to speculate on the volumes of food we’ve prepared over the years or the pints of beer we’ve pulled, but it’s fair to say most people simply wouldn’t believe it.
Thank you everyone, thank you, thank you, thank you, we hope you have enjoyed our two decades of service (or three and a half if you include the years in the kitchen prior) and we wish each and every one of you all the very best for the future. So, that’s it folks, the end, we’re done…..all we are left to say is….. “Blue Anchor Buffet and Sunday Carvery out”….. oh and of course, we almost forgot… “never say never ;)”
