The Western Pub

[davieG]

Leicestershire-based pub company Steamin' Billy has revealed that it is leaving city pub The Western.

A statement was posted yesterday on the pub company's Facebook page.

It reads: "The time has come to announce that after 13 fantastic years we will be closing the doors to @thewesternsb for the final time at the beginning of May and handing back the keys to the pub's owner Everards.

"On behalf of James and his team at The Western and from everybody at Steamin’ Billy we would like to thank all our customers for your support over the years and helping to make it a wonderful local.

"The pub will continue to trade as normal until early May so we hope to welcome lots of you through the doors until then."

The Western is in Western Road, in the heart of Leicester's West End, and has seven cask ales, traditional ciders and a wide range of whisky and rum.

The pub has a large courtyard garden, and log fires and a snug area inside, and holds regular events such as beer festivals, poetry nights and gigs.

It is also home to Leicester's first pub theatre - Upstairs At The Western.

The Western is one of 10 pubs run by Steamin' Billy. Others include The Parcel Yard, in Leicester, The Cow and Plough in Oadby and The Paget Arms in Loughborough.

The Steamin' Billy brand was founded in 1998 by Billy Allingham and Barry Lount.

According to the Steamin' Billy website, landlord Barry Lount asked beer supplier, Billy Allingham from Leatherbritches Brewery, if he could produce a house beer for the Cow & Plough in Oadby.

The beer was named after Barry's dog Billy who used to return from an hour or two chasing rabbits over the Leicestershire countryside 'steamin' with steam rising from his back while he panted and enjoyed half a bowl of beer.

Talking about the closure of The Western, Billy Allingham told LeicestershireLive:

"Steamin' Billy has had a wonderful time running The Western over the past 13 years.

"We feel it needs a new direction for the changing demographic and today's customer.

"We gave it a new lease of life 13 years ago and at the moment we have other projects to concentrate on.

"Everards were very happy to have The Western back to invest in it themselves and safeguard its future as a traditional pub in their estate."

Everards has issued the following statement to LeicestershireLive: "We are sad to learn that Steamin’ Billy are moving on from The Western after many great years there, but we wish them all the best and thank them for their hard work.

"The Western is a traditional pub that sits in Leicester’s West End and with so much potential it offers a fantastic opportunity for the right person.

"The search is now on to find someone with a great business vision and the passion and drive to give this much-loved pub a new lease of life and continue to create a great pub for the whole local community to enjoy!"

[Father Ted]

Whispers of Bricklayers Arms set to shut soon too. 

[urban.spaceman]

What about the Prince Of Punjab?

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

What about the Prince Of Punjab?

Don't think he has the cash.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Another place to drink average Everards beer, buzzing.

"The changing demographic and today's customer" just about sums up Leicester's shit drinking culture where everyone seems terrified of places with an ounce of character. You couldn't apply that statement to a Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham...

You know exactly what this is going to look like when it's done - grey paint, white tiles, ****ing boring.

[Guest]

Back in the day it was a good place to go and play a game of pool upstairs. A nice quiet, unpopular pub where you could drink safely on a saturday night.

 

p.s. why is this in ticket news?

Edited 5 February 2020 by Guest

[davieG]

1 hour ago, FIF said:

Back in the day it was a good place to go and play a game of pool upstairs. A nice quiet, unpopular pub where you could drink safely on a saturday night.

 

p.s. why is this in ticket news?

It's ticket and travel and lots of people travelling to the game pop in here for a beer or 2.

[Guest Cujek]

9 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

Another place to drink average Everards beer, buzzing.

"The changing demographic and today's customer" just about sums up Leicester's shit drinking culture where everyone seems terrified of places with an ounce of character. You couldn't apply that statement to a Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham...

You know exactly what this is going to look like when it's done - grey paint, white tiles, ****ing boring.

Locals have always had a reputation though haven't they?

 

In my day, you drank in one place and that was your local, it had a reputation as a rough place but actually we loved seeing new people in there as we wanted our pub to be popular, im sure this is the same in most locals.

 

went to Bala once in Wales with my mate, we took a trip into town and went in the pub there, we walked in the whole place hushed, everyone turned to us and looked, realized we was English and very much not local.

 

we spent and awkward 30 mins or so of wondering how long it was going to be until we got into a fight with the locals, out of no where a huge farmer type man, in his 40's came over to us, we thought "ok, this is it"

 

he asked us what we are doing there, we replied with deep voices (i'm sure our 19 year old selves squeaked at him), so we explained that in fact we were camping at lake Bala and we were there to get drunk, there were some other exchanges over the next quarter of an hour or so.

 

By the end of the night we was singing Welsh songs with them (badly) getting slaps on the back and receiving comments like not all English are dogs after all.

 

my point is, not all locals are bad and people should be given a chance on both sides, i think the younger chaps of today are not brought up to go to "locals" its all as you say gray paint and white tiles, with bar staff wearing shirts and pinnies selling cold sweet fizzy larger.

 

there is a definite shift in the demographic going to pubs nowadays, some of the younger ones dont even go out until after 10, in my day if you hadnt had 10 pints by the time these lot are coming out, you werent doing it right.

[RonnieTodger]

Shame. 

Another Steaming Billy place near me (Cow & Plough) is fantastic

[ScouseFox]

2 hours ago, RonnieTodger said:

Shame. 

Another Steaming Billy place near me (Cow & Plough) is fantastic

10/10 gaff that. also a belter when it used to be a farm when i was like 4. 

[Voll Blau]

1 minute ago, ScouseFox said:

10/10 gaff that. also a belter when it used to be a farm when i was like 4. 

Classic school trip venue iirc.

[ScouseFox]

1 minute ago, Voll Blau said:

Classic school trip venue iirc.

aha does seem like it would be a good one, used to love feeding them goats.

 

boozer does some of the most outrageous sandwiches going these days. the bread is about 6 inches thick. an the ale is decent. 

[KrefelderFox666]

51 minutes ago, ScouseFox said:

aha does seem like it would be a good one, used to love feeding them goats.

 

boozer does some of the most outrageous sandwiches going these days. the bread is about 6 inches thick. an the ale is decent. 

As you were all talking about it I had to google where it was. I am sure I went in there once after playing a rugby game against Leicester University, they used it as their clubhouse as they played on the rec ground.

[Rain King]

58 minutes ago, ScouseFox said:

aha does seem like it would be a good one, used to love feeding them goats.

 

boozer does some of the most outrageous sandwiches going these days. the bread is about 6 inches thick. an the ale is decent. 

Was it where Stoughton Farm Park used to be?

[RonnieTodger]

3 hours ago, ScouseFox said:

aha does seem like it would be a good one, used to love feeding them goats.

 

boozer does some of the most outrageous sandwiches going these days. the bread is about 6 inches thick. an the ale is decent. 

Had the slow cooked beef and cheddar sandwich with dipping gravy last week. Absolutely top drawer.

[boots60]

"The search is now on to find someone with a great business vision and the passion and drive to give this much-loved pub a new lease of life"

 

Like someone who will keep the pub open after the biggest game of the season on Boxing Day night, one of the biggest drinking days of the year. 

 

Unfortunately not.

 

And this is one of the reasons the pub is calling it a day.

 

[ScouseFox]

9 hours ago, pds said:

Was it where Stoughton Farm Park used to be?

yeah man, great place 

 

7 hours ago, RonnieTodger said:

Had the slow cooked beef and cheddar sandwich with dipping gravy last week. Absolutely top drawer.

sounds delightful, gonna have to visit on my next trip to LE 

[Guest]

Decent boozer sorry to see it go

[FLAN]

Need 2 adults for this one 

[PAULCFC]

1 hour ago, FLAN said:

Need 2 adults for this one 

Not to get in the Western