Rundown south Essex pub set for £300,00 investment (From Echo)

Rundown south Essex pub set for £300,00 investment

8:20am Monday 26th September 2011 in Local News By Emma Palmer

A RUNDOWN village pub is set to be turned into a £300,000 gastro-style venue where even the furniture will be on sale.

The Carpenters Arms, in Rawreth, is being gutted and re-built as a plush restaurant where customers can order more than just food off the menu.

As well as a slap-up dish, diners can buy a decadent wall mirror or hand-made chair, because even the decor will be on sale inside the new-look venue!

Instead of china plates, meals – including the pub’s signature dishes – will be mostly served up on wooden olive board platters, while produce will all be locally sourced.

The owners of the pub, in London Road, hope the quirky differences will get customers flocking from across south Essex for business lunches, dinners and Sunday roasts.

Work on the transformation of the 200-year-old pub should be completed by November.

The drab decor will make way for burnt orange coloured walls, sleek wooden flooring, hand-made tables, and furniture made out of re-claimed wood from the pub’s old ceiling.

The outside of the building will be painted powder purple to give it a Suffolk country-pub feel.

The two couples behind the scheme bought the pub together from Punch Taverns.

Lee Edwards, 35, his partner Louise Donovan, 29, from Rochford, and Darren and Lisa Rapley, 40 and 39 respectively, from Eastwood, are confident their plans will succeed.

Lee, who has a history in catering, said: “We toyed with changing the name, but in the end we thought everyone knows the Carpenters Arms roundabout and we wanted to keep the feel and heart of the pub.

“At the end of the day, the name doesn’t matter. It’s what’s inside that counts. It’s probably not a gastro pub, but that kind of thing.

“We wanted to do something different, so we decided to sell furniture and decor as well. If a diner likes the look of the mirror or a table or something we’ll tell them where to get it and the cost.

“If they enjoy their steak we’ll tell them which butchers shop it came from, the same with jams, chutneys, etc. All of which are being sourced locally.”

Louise, a former manager for Pret-a-Manger, added: “We hope the place will be thought of as a warm and friendly venue which serves good, honest food with a touch of elegance.”

Chef Simon Webb, 31, of Flemming Crescent, Leigh, will be in charge of the kitchen.

Mr Webb is currently a finalist in the National Chef of the Year 2011 contest in London.