From the http://www.kentlive.news 29 Apri, 2009.

Pub-goers reassured that bar will re-open

SOUTHBOROUGH'S Irish pub Ryan's is set to re-open under a new landlord.

The London Road bar shut its doors in February. Graham Rumsey, who has run the pub for around five years, said he could no longer afford to keep it open.

Ryan's owner Enterprise Inns told the Kent and Sussex Courier it was planning to refurbish the pub.

A spokeswoman said: "Ryan's Bar is temporarily closed but our intention is to open it to the local community as soon as possible."

As the Kent and Sussex Courier spoke to Mr Rumsey on Tuesday, he was handing back the keys.

"The smoking ban hurt us in 2007. That started the decline in pubs, then came cheap prices in supermarkets. I could purchase beer cheaper in a supermarket than I could from suppliers."

Customers used to flock to Ryan's to watch live football matches on big screens, but the landlord was forced to stop broadcasting satellite television after subscription prices rocketed.

He added: "But the main thing is the overheads. They are prohibitive and something needs to be done about it.

"I have no choice but to send the keys back. It's a dying trade."

Southborough has seen many of its pubs shut down over the years, with the decline of the "Beehive," the "Crown," the "Bell," "Bat and Ball" and the "Flying Dutchman."

The "Royal Oak" in Speldhurst Road is on the market to be sold on an existing use basis by owner Shepherd Neame, although the bar is still trading.

Now Mr Rumsey says he is resurrecting the old "Bat and Ball" within the Silk Thai restaurant on London Road.

He says the local picture reflects national fears over the death of the British pub and a further hike in alcohol duty – two per cent – in last week's budget could be another nail in the coffin of the industry.

From the http://www.kentlive.news 07 September, 2009.

Pair to revive English pub.

New leasees of Ryan's pub, Malcolm and Tracy Stanway, are returning the pub to it's former glory as the Flying Dutchman.

AN eyesore pub site in Southborough is set to make a welcome return to its roots.

After Ryan's Bar closed in February, broken lights hung off the wall and windows were boarded up with metal to deter vandals.

But the new owners are promising a £90,000 revamp will transform the London Road bar back to its former glory as a traditional English pub – and restore its former name, the "Flying Dutchman," in the process.

In the midst of what seems like the decline of the Great British pub, new owners Malcolm and Tracy Stanway, from Pembury, are more than determined to make it work.

"We're turning it into a community pub again, with good pub food, real ales and real fires," said Mr Stanway.

"It sounds quite idyllic but that was what pubs used to be about and it's dear to my heart to see local pubs growing."

The pair also took over the "Weavers" pub in January. "Weavers" is still an ongoing project but things are pretty good," said Malcolm.

"Business tailed off initially but it's crept back up.

"A lot of the customers in the "Weavers" are very excited about the "Flying Dutchman" re-opening. Apparently, the locals still call it FDs."

Mr and Mrs Stanway also run a pub in Barming, and are in the process of opening a fourth in Tunbridge Wells but remained tight-lipped about the location.

"There is a nice community feel around here, so it's no good doing a flash in the pan in this type of business; this is for the long term," said Malcolm, who has been in the pub trade for about 24 years, having started out as a publican in Westerham.

"We want to build slowly on what we have got."

A step inside the empty pub reveals it still has a long way to go, but walls have been knocked down and light floods into the spacious building.

The stage for live music and widescreen televisions brought in for sport will stay, but floors have to be sanded, carpet laid, a new sign hung and the exterior repainted to the Stanways' colours of black and gold.

"We have yet to find out what local people want," said Tracy.

"After all it's our business but it's their pub."