A WORCESTER pub has gone back to its roots and re-opened after a major refurbishment thanks to a Midlands micro brewery.

Black Country Ales bought the closed pub – most recently called Woo Bar – in St Nicholas Street in early June and has spent a six figure sum taking it back from a style bar to a comfortable old fashioned pub.

There has been a pub – with names including the Yorkshire Arms and the Brewers Arms - on the site for about 300 years, but the current Victorian building was, for many years, called the Imperial Hotel.

Black Country Ales Director Angus McMeeking said the company had been looking for the right opportunity in Worcester for some time. “It is our first venture in Worcester, which is a place we have been looking at for a long time.

“The building is lovely. It is a good old fashioned pile. We are excited by the prospect and we hope to do it well and do it right at the Imperial Tavern.”

Angus said there would be no loud music or pool tables and definitely no chips to eat. “We might do a nice locally sourced pork pie. We will hopefully be offering bar snacks but it won’t be a place to go for a meal.”

The Imperial Tavern, which re-opened on Thursday this week (August 13), will have a welcoming ambience where people can go to enjoy a drink on their own or meet up with friends, he said.

Another attraction will be the range of cask ales – 10 in total. Angus said there would be three of their own beers on tap and seven other real ales from a wider selection of breweries, which will rotate to offer lots of choice.

“Real ale has seen tremendous growth with young people and women as well as men. People are starting to look for a bit more individuality and choice. We have 10 hand-pulls. The plan is that we have three of our own beers and the others will be from different breweries and we will keep rotating them.”

The Imperial Tavern has also seen its licensee Andrew Digger return to his roots. He was born in Worcester, helped out in local pubs (including the Horn and Trumpet in Angel Street) where his mum worked and did a catering course at the technical college. His first job in the pub trade was at the Little Sauce Factory on London Road. Most recently he has run a pub in Cardiff Bay.

“It is nice being back in Worcester – it is a great city. It has always been home to me and The Imperial is a great project to get stuck into. Some of my family still live here and I am looking forward to reconnecting with some old friends.”

The interior of the Imperial is very traditional and the walls are adorned with a number of pictures of old Worcester, which are both interesting and likely to be a talking point with customers, said Andrew.