The team behind East Bristol brewery Good Chemistry Brewing have announced that they are set to re-open a pub next month.
The historic Kings Head pub, in central Bristol, is the city’s only pub of national importance in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)’s Heritage Listed Interiors. It has been shut since the start of Covid.
The pub is best known for its historic and unusual tramcar seating interior, while the back bar dates from around 1865 and may be the oldest surviving in the country. This new chapter in the long-established pub’s history will see these unique features returned to centre stage.
With real estate adviser Altus Group reporting that an estimated 50 pubs a month are closing their doors across the country, the team felt a particular duty to ensure that the Kings Head could re-open and welcome customers again. After many years under the ownership of a large pubco, this venture marks a return to it being an independently owned freehouse.
The team will offer cask and keg beer from local and national breweries, including permanent Good Chemistry Brewing beers, alongside spirits, natural wines, and non-alcoholic drinks.
Following the lead of its sister pub, the award-winning The Good Measure, in north Bristol, the passionate and thoughtful team at the Kings Head will create a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere.
Bob Cary, head brewer and co-owner of Good Chemistry Brewing, said: “Pubs provide a meeting point for communities, where people from different age groups and backgrounds can enjoy a shared space. At a time when many people have never felt more isolated, and haven’t been able to socialise in the ways they were used to, we want the revitalised Kings Head to offer that space once again.
“We can’t wait to bring beers from some of our favourite breweries to the cosy surroundings of this wonderful pub. Like so many valued and sometimes under-appreciated pubs, the Kings Head has been a place for Bristol people to get together for hundreds of years, and we are so pleased to be able to carry on that tradition.”
Steve Bluff, head of Redcliffe and Temple Business Improvement District (BID), added: “We’re delighted to see that the Kings Head will re-open under the management of well-respected Bristol brewery Good Chemistry. This historic pub is a key location in the heart of the fast-changing BID area, and we look forward to working with Good Chemistry to help make Redcliffe a popular night-time economy destination for all.”
