14/06/2026
🎉 We Are One Year Old Today 🎉 Today marks our first anniversary since reopening The Holly Bush.
It all started back in January 2025 when we purchased this much-loved pub. After five months of hard work, planning, refurbishment and investment, we finally reopened the doors on 14th June 2025.
The truth is, we had absolutely no pub experience. None of us had ever worked in a pub before, and it would be fair to say we were definitely winging it from day one!
What we did have was a love of proper pubs. We’d spent enough time enjoying them over the years to recognise what makes a great local pub, and our aim was simple - to bring The Holly Bush back to life, add our own Black Country style of doing things, and restore it as the traditional country pub it deserved to be.
When we opened a year ago, we expected things to be busy for the first few weeks and then gradually settle down as the pub found its level. Instead, it’s been non-stop from day one!
If anything, The Holly Bush seems to be getting busier with each passing month. We’ve seen familiar faces become regulars and welcomed visitors from all over the Black Country and beyond.
People often tell us we’re bucking the trend of pubs struggling. But all we’ve done is try to do the basic stuff the very best we can - Keep the pub looking nice, serve honest - good food, pour good beer, offer good service and charge fair prices…and then hope the rest takes care of itself.
There’s no great secret or master plan behind it. We’ve simply tried to create the sort of pub that we would want to visit ourselves, and thankfully that seems to have struck a chord with a lot of people.
Along the way we’ve won two CAMRA awards – Pub of the Season and Runner-Up Pub of the Year.
Not bad for a family that had never poured a pint before! 🏆🏆
From a business point of view, the pub has had a very successful first year. But it certainly hasn’t all been rosy or easy. It’s been bloody hard work at times, with plenty of challenges and more than a few hard lessons learned along the way.
Would we do it again? Probably.
Finally, we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us so far – the builders, tradesmen, suppliers, our amazing staff and, most importantly, all of our fantastic customers ❤️
We’re incredibly grateful for your support and for helping make The Holly Bush what it is today.
Here’s to Year Two! 🍻
Daren & Jamie MacDonald
The Holly Bush, Belbroughton
