Sisters take over pub where they visited as teens

THE Hare and Hounds pub in Sonning Common has been taken over by two sisters who visited the pub growing up.

It was previously run by Mick and Claire Sugg, who left to take up a post at the Saracen’s Head in Henley after 10 years.

Mandy Limbrick, 57, and Nickie Butler, 53, have taken over the pub in Woodlands Road, having grown up in the village.

The pair, who attended the former Chiltern Edge School, have spent four years working in security for clients in Dubai and the UK.

Ms Limbrick said that the “warm” venue, which is owned by Brakspear, is the right size for them as their first pub.

She said: “It’s a pub in the village we grew up in and we used to drink here when we were youngsters.

“It’s just a beautiful little pub in a beautiful village and it has got everything we need.

“It’s small enough for us to blend in — you walk in and it’s like walking into your living room. It’s very welcoming and warm as soon as you come in the door.”

Ms Limbrick, who lives in Binfield Heath, said she didn’t return home for the first week after taking on the pub on Monday last week.

She said they had enjoyed a warm reception from villagers, and had been busily picking up tricks of the trade, including how to change a beer barrel.

Ms Limbrick said: “I have just not had time to leave here with getting everything ready.

“You want to put your own stamp on the pub. But, for me, it’s things like learning the tills and the beer. We’ve never changed a beer barrel in our lives so that was new.

“We changed a few this week because we have had such a brilliant reception.

“We have been so busy that where I initially thought we could have two of us behind the bar, we actually had five.

“Lots of people have come back to the pub that haven’t been here for a long time so that has been nice too.”

Ms Limbrick said that to prepare for its opening week, they had the help of family and friends to get the pub ready for a welcome party on Saturday, which included a barbecue food truck and live reggae music. She said the event also served as a farewell party for her son, Connor, 26, who was moving away to run a party boat in the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand.

Ms Limbrick, who has two other sons, Louis, 25, and Kyle, who is 23, said her niece, Emma, 20, would be moving into the pub with her to take on day-to-day management.

Ms Butler’s other child, Dan, 30, has also been helping out.

Apart from one full-time staff member who stayed on from the previous management, Ms Limbrick said they will initially only be looking to hire a chef for lunch and evening meals.

She said: “We don’t particularly want to do à la carte, it will be basic pub food, nice Sunday roasts, lunches, just basic pub food, nothing extravagant.

“We’re looking to get a local person who is eager to come in and do some evening or lunch time cooking.

“Sunday roasts will be the first thing we start doing but not for a few Sundays yet.”