The White Horse in Empingham to reopen as ‘The Twisted Trout’
A pub will reopen this weekend with new landlords who ‘fell in love with the community’.
Emma Bass and Harvey Green have been spending all their free time renovating Empingham village’s pub, which they have renamed ‘The Twisted Trout’.
As The White Horse, the pub has had several landlords in recent years, and has been closed since November.
But after spending time in Empingham, and visiting the pub when it was open, Emma and Harvey decided to enquire about it after it had been closed for several months.
Emma said: “We fell in love with everything - the village, the people and the pub. It’s the most beautiful building, so we started talking to the brewery.”
Emma, who previously worked in human resources, admitted she ‘had a little cry’ when they got the keys three weeks ago and realised how much work they had to do.
“It was an eye-opener, and certainly looked ‘unloved’, having been shut for quite a while, but now it’s all starting to come together and I love it,” she said. “I’m in work trousers all the time, and have teamed them up with safety goggles today. Meanwhile, Harvey, who is an engineer, has built a new bar from scratch, which looks amazing.
“We’ve put in 16 to 20-hour days and it’s really coming together. We put up the new pub signs on Saturday.”
The couple chose to change the name to something that ‘reflected the local area’ due to the proximity of Rutland Water - the dam is a 10-minute walk away - and the fact The White Horse has opened and shut a few times since covid, and they want to give it a fresh start.
When they open - at midday this Saturday (May 24) - the couple will serve a range of drinks, including local beers such as Stamford Pale from the Baker’s Dozen Brewery in Ketton, and will be doing a barbecue.
“We’re not quite ready to serve a full menu, but that will be available soon,” said Emma.
“We have a team that includes head chef Kieran, Sam in the front-of-house alongside Jayne, who is also our head baker, and her husband, Charlie, who is in charge of ales.
“The support from friends in the community has been amazing - they have rallied around to help us get everything ready to open.”
The Twisted Trout is a free house without ties to any brewery, and that allows them to offer a wider choice of drinks over time.
After the first day, The Twisted Trout will open daily from 11am. The couple are also renovating the pub’s guest accommodation, which includes three rooms upstairs and another seven in the stable block. They will live at the pub.
