We visited a Market Drayton pub which is a rich mixture of local pub and food hub and has got some exciting plans for more opportunies
It's a purpose-built pub and events space which is set to become a must-see events space for hire, but is also a very popular setting for a drink within the walls of a Shropshire market town.
Sometimes, a pub is put together as a way of helping people get used to the space and facilities and see whether they would like to hold anniversaries, birthdays, wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs and all other kinds of celebrations there.
The Stag in Market Drayton is exactly that type of pub, having become the temporary base of Joule's Brewery's taphouse as its existing pub The Red Lion is undergoing significant refurbishment into the Autumn.
The pub on Great Hales Street was acquired by the neighbouring brewery in 2024 and opened to the pub at the end of April, with Joule's saying that it had wanted to enhance its brewery operations, as well as use the entire courtyard around it as part of its concept.
As the Red Lion reopens, the Stag will transition into a special event for hire, where people can hire the whole pub, including the massive events hall, and only have to pay for the cost of food and drink.
For the time being, the Stag is currently operating as a pub and taproom for the brewery and has a feeling of appearing small on the outside, but then opening up into a huge venue once you pass through the doors, with unique architecture and features present in all the different parts of the pub.
General manager Chris Turner said he had been part of the process to get the pub ready to open and said that while it had been a baptism of fire, it had also been a very rewarding experience due to the popularity of the pub.
