A LANDLADY whose life has seen significant change during the pandemic says she would never have believed she would have found herself at St Fagan’s Castle Hotel if you’d asked her six months ago.
Natasha Rees and her husband Gareth and sons Harley, 11, and Corey, six, were forced to leave the Station Hotel in Cogan at the end of July when owners Brains sold the premises.
A quick move to a new home in Penarth followed, and after spending a month away, the family have got back into the swing of things at St Fagan’s on Windsor Road.
“I was shocked when we were told we had to leave Cogan, but we quickly had to get out and find a place,” Mrs Rees said. “We spent August away in Cornwall and Greece and I hadn’t even thought about St Fagan’s.
“Then we had some contact with the brewery (Enterprise) out of the blue. I was a little sceptical at first to be honest. If you’d have asked me six months ago I’d have said I’d never take this place over.
“But we felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down. How often would a pub come up right by us?
“Gareth said we’d always be asking ourselves ‘what if?’ if we turned it down – and he’s right.”
The family have got right down to work to remove a late alcohol licence and return the pub to its former glories.
Asked whether they have felt the impact of a second lockdown and the 10pm curfew, she says they have been pleasantly surprised.
“It has been more challenging to make sure we have got the social distancing right,” she said. “The curfew hasn’t really hurt us because we don’t want really late drinkers anyway – that’s why we’re removing the late license.
“I don’t want people drunk and fighting outside the pub late at night.
“We’re lucky a lot of our regulars come in throughout the day, so we always have a steady flow. I’m never in here on my own.
“We’ve been really lucky throughout the pandemic with the support we’ve had from the public – and most of all our regulars.
“We’ve had lots come over with us from the Station, and we’ve also seen lots of old St Fagan’s regulars returning. It’s lovely to see.”
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