Member Article

Full steam ahead for Chantry expansion

A former train driver is drawing on his experiences of working in the railway industry and combining them with his love of real ale to pay tribute to one of the most famous steam locomotives to built in South Yorkshire.

For the past forty years, Paul Vernon has spent his working days driving trains on the region’s rail network. Last year he teamed up with close friends and co-directors of Rotherham’s Chantry Brewery to open the first new real ale pub in the town centre, and are now hoping to take their winning formula to Doncaster when they launch the Flying Scotsman Tap – a new type of real ale bar in Doncaster’s town centre.

The Flying Scotsman Tap will be based in the former Garage bar on Silver Street, and will see Paul and the Chantry team launch a branch new type of drinking experience – transforming the empty and derelict building into the new venue which officially opens its doors on Friday 5th December.

It’s taken Paul and the Chantry team just two weeks to transform the empty building from being a derelict site into their new real ale haven. During that time the venue has received an extensive refurbishment and when the pub opens its doors on Friday 5th December, it hopes to place an emphasis on ale, atmosphere and entertainment. However, if you’re thinking the new venue is a place designed to appeal to the trainspotter inside you, think again.

The Flying Scotsman Tap will feature nine hand pumps on its bar, which will stock the full range of Chantry brewed beers, a changing selection of guest ales as well as ciders and Belgian lagers. Each weekend, the venue will host a varied selection of live music.

Paul Vernon was a founder member of the Rotherham branch of CAMRA and first teamed up with Chantry brewery owners and close friends Mick and Kevin Warburton to open Rotherham’s first dedicated real ale pub, The New York Tavern in November 2013. He said:

“The opening of the Flying Scotsman Tap is an exciting opportunity that we hope will offer something very different to Doncaster’s town centre. We’ll be featuring live music each weekend, and placing an emphasis on good beer, good entertainment and a good atmosphere.

“When we first opened the doors of our first pub, The New York Tavern last year, very few pubs in the town centre and although the Flying Scotsman Tap will be a very different experience, we’re hoping that it will be something that adds more variety and choice to Doncaster’s night scene.”

Mick Warburton, Director, Chantry Brewery said:

“The opening of The Flying Scotsman Tap is a significant step in the growth and evolution of the brewery. Since completing the purchase of the building two weeks ago, we’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure that our new pub opens on time.

“We’ve come a long way since we first opened the doors of the brewery in 2011 and the opening of the Flying Scotsman Tap will be the third venue we have opened in less than twelve months. We’ve noticed that sales and demand for our beers in Doncaster have been consistently high and by opening the venue, we can guarantee that our beers will be more widely available.

“It really surprised us to learn that despite the close connections between Doncaster and the railway industry there wasn’t a pub named after the Flying Scotsman in the town, so decided that it was time to put that right.

The Flying Scotsman Tap is perhaps best known as being home to the Old Volunteer’s Working Men’s Club which first opened its doors in early twentieth century and was most recently used as the Garage Bar. It will be third pub to be opened by Chantry Brewery in just two years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chantry Brewery .