Powering up your SU

The Packhorse // Monkey's Forehead

It may not come as a surprise to many of you that we have some important news regarding the future of The Monkey’s Forehead (the pub on the A30). To cut a long story short, six months ago it became apparent that the current owner wished to sell it in order to relocate permanently.

The College has therefore taken the opportunity to purchase the lease, handing the venue over to the Students’ Union to continue operating it as a pub. We’ve done this to make sure the service is retained, and to prevent the loss of a popular space for students to something else.

What We Know: Some FAQs

Whilst we’re still in the detailed planning phase for exactly what will happen, there are some things we already know:

  • The new venue will open in late March, either at the start of Term 3 or just before the end of Term 2 – depending on how quickly the refurbishment work is completed. There will, of course, be an advertised grand opening!
  • The venue will be renamed The Packhorse, which was the original name for the pub. You can see more history here.
  • It will continue to offer high quality food at student prices. Although the menu and some of the drinks will change (more info later), some of the prices will even reduce.
  • The breakfast will stay. Fear not. It will also be renamed The Monkey’s Breakfast in honour of the popular dish.
  • The venue will remain open to the general public and will welcome members of the local community. It will operate 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year.
  • The venue will operate as a not-for-profit social enterprise. It’s not a way for the College or Students’ Union to make money. In fact, the budget shows it pretty much breaks even for the next three years. As with all our other services, it will be run via student staff – creating more part time jobs on campus and putting more money back into your pockets.

Some of you might also know that the venue has a number of rooms upstairs – currently not open for use. We’re now working with the College to identify how these could possibly be refurbished for use by students, student groups, College staff and others. If this is possible we’ll announce details a little later in the term.

Shape Its Future

Whilst we’ve already done some work on the refurbishment and likely food / drink offer, as a Students’ Union we know it’s crucial we get your input. So over the next week we want to know two simple things (be sensible, we’re not made of money):

  1. What do you love about the current pub?
  2. What would you change about the current pub?
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