The new owner of The Jester Country Inn and Hotel in Odsey has spoken about his vision for the historic hostelry.
Former postmaster Bas Basra officially took over at The Jester - near the A505 and Ashwell & Morden railway station - yesterday.
Bas told the Crow: "My passion for wanting to run The Jester stemmed from wanting to set myself a challenge to bring it back to being a community hub.
"The potential for the place is tremendous - we are hoping to do coffee mornings and to serve the large commuter base who travel to London and Cambridge.
"From July we will be serving hot drinks and breakfasts on the go like a bacon butty and a coffee."
The Jester has been a part of the Steeple Morden parish for years, and many Odsey residents were saddened when an application was made by British Country Inns to knock down the pub and build six houses in its place - increasing the total number of homes in the hamlet by 25 per cent.
The application was refused on appeal in January 2018.
READ MORE: Concerns over future of Odsey pub
Bas, who is married with two children, relocated to Hertfordshire from Kent in 2016, where he ran three post offices.
He also runs a wedding and party business, which includes prestige car hire and photo booths.
He said: "The plans for The Jester is to fully maximise the rental of the rooms, fully upgrading all of them.
"We will also completely fit out the function room so that we can hold lots of weddings, corporate events, parties, charity events and more.
"We plan on stopping all evening meals for a short period, which I know may inconvenience some of our customers - but we will then relaunch with a new 'pub classics menu' with lunch, evening and Sunday menu hoping to bring back Sunday Roast dinners. We plan on theme nights too."
"We want to work with the local community to support clubs, events and more so are open to suggestions from the locals.
"If you have an event or social gathering contact me direct so we can accommodate."
Bas will be holding an official opening event on August 3 for the community to go along and enjoy a day out at the pub.
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