Member Article

Black Sheep completes upgrade to Last Drop Inn ready for customers to get their first drop in 18 months

Black Sheep Brewery has completed a significant refurbishment of The Last Drop Inn, ready to open doors to customers for the first time since March 2020.

The pub in the heart of York has remained closed since the start of the pandemic and its Masham-based owners have taken the opportunity to embark on an upgrade.

Black Sheep will reopen the Last Drop Inn, which it acquired as part of its deal for the York Brewery in 2018, on 19th October. The brewery has brought in a new manager, Alex Higginson and created five jobs for local people.

As part of the refurbishment a team of designers and craftspeople have completed a full makeover, which includes a new bar, new beer cellar, new flooring and refitted toilets. In addition, the pub’s staircase, which is a listed feature has been expertly repaired and renovated.

The new bar is complemented by a keg wall, which has created space for up to eight hand pull beers from Black Sheep’s popular range of cask and craft ales.

The exterior of the pub in Colliergate has also been upgraded, highlighting its place within Black Sheep’s collection of owned retail premises, which also includes the Three Legged Mare in High Petergate.

The Last Drop Inn will also serve food, following the installation of a new kitchen offering a range of sharing platers, cheeseboards and locally sourced pies. It will host open mic nights on Mondays, a quiz on Wednesdays and live music on Fridays.

Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery, said: “We’re really excited to be reopening The Last Drop Inn and welcoming customers back into the pub to enjoy the new surroundings.

“We were devastated when we were forced to close by the pandemic and even when other pubs began to reopen, we felt, due to it being quite an intimate venue, that it wasn’t suitable to reopen until social distancing rules had been lifted.

“However, like other areas of our business, such as our really successful ecommerce operation we launched during lockdown, we took the opportunity to focus on things we could change and improve, including the refurbishment of this beautiful and popular pub.

“We’re really proud of the upgrade and also recruiting Alex as our new manager who is as passionate about Black Sheep and the pub as we are. I am sure customers will share our enthusiasm for the reopening and come and join us for a nice pint of Black Sheep!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Joseph Sayer .