The schedule for re-opening the pub!

We’ve raised £552,875 to buy the Drewe Arms and turn it into a Community Pub!   A total of 508 investors have now become members of the Drewsteignton Community Benefit Society and will have say in how the pub is run.

​

Our priority is to get the pub open as quickly as possible and our Landlord Simon Saunders is increasingly spending time with us building what one would best describe as a huge ‘to-do’ list for an opening in early March. Simon aims to keep his Fat Mouse Dairy business in Chagford but with arms-length management as his time increasingly switches to the Drewe. Together, we are now working on the detail of our ‘five-year plan’ that is all about sustainably building the business and preserving the buildings in such a way that the foundations are well and truly in place for the community pub to flourish.

​

January and February - The Big Clear Up

And that brings us onto our wider need for volunteers. As you may imagine, the building and outside space has been neglected for well over a year. There are plants growing from areas that they shouldn’t be, and those that are in the right place have gone a little wild. In the buildings there are old mattresses, fridges and piles of junk. The volunteering days are going to ​take place on Saturday 20th January and Saturday 10th February.  If you'd like to get involved click here

Grant Applications

We are actively progressing two important applications for grant funding to help us with some of the more urgent repairs and then longer-term refurbishment work. We envisage that this will be undertaken in a number of different ‘phases’ over the next few years carefully co-ordinated around the functioning of the pub and availability of the Longroom. Our mantra is not to rush, keep things clear and simple, and to do what we do as well as we possibly can. 

 

Opening on Saturday 16th March

This is our target date for the formal opening of the pub.  The campaign to raise money to buy the Drewe has been a huge success and we’ve generated lots of publicity.  We expect to be very busy from the outset, so we need to ensure everything is in place to delight every visitor we welcome in.  This date also tees us up for the all-important summer season when we can hope to pull in lots of tourist business.