From the Kent messenger Faversham News. Thursday, September 19, 2013. Price £1.10. by Suz Elvey

MICRO PUB HOPES FOR BIG FUTURE.

Rumours sweeping town are true

Faversham's first micro pub is being planned for Preston Street.

Resident Andrew Sach, (left), is hoping the miniature pub will be open by Christmas and intends to sell local ales and ciders and English wine.

Support has been flooding in from residents, publicans and councillors, Mr Sach said, and he's already been approached by people looking for jobs.

He said: “Faversham is changing and people are coming into the town with different expectations. We have started to become a real food place and a micro pub can add to that.”

Faversham's first micro pub planned for Preston Street.

Rumours that a micro pub is being planned for Preston Street are true - and we've tracked down the man who hopes to make it happen.

Furlong's Ale House is the brainchild of resident Andrew Sach, who is putting together a pre-planning application with the aim of having the micro pub up and running by Christmas.

Mr Sach, 51, of Stone Street, would run the pub with his wife Jude, 40, and intends to serve drink from Kent and Sussex.

He would have three beers, one cider and one whisky available at a time as well as English wine and local juices.

He is considering importing a few bottled European lagers and, after speaking to Stefano Cuomo, owner of Macknade Fine Foods, he is thinking of serving plates of cold meat and cheese to accompany the beer.

Common purpose

He also intends to sell beer in bottles to take away.

Mr Sach said: “We've got some stunning micro breweries in Kent such as Gadds, Goachers, Wantsum, Whitstable Brewery, Hopdaemon and Mad Cat - you can't get much more local than those last two. I want people to go there for the beer and the conversation.

“Every time I've been to a micro pub you end up talking to people because you're there with a common purpose. You're not there to watch football on the television or listen to the jukebox, you're there for the beer and the nice atmosphere.

“Opening a pub is something that's been at the back of my mind for ages. What made me decide on a micro pub was visiting the "Bake and Ale House" in Westgate, it was just the perfect little pub. One of the attractions of micro pubs, and one of the reasons they're becoming so popular, is because the cost of running one is low and you don't need a massive amount to start up. Also, because you're not tied to a brewery you can buy what you want when you want.”

The wannabe landlord, who currently works for Invicta Couriers, researched the history of the area, with help from Faversham Society volunteers, and discovered a barber shop with the name Furlong in its title once stood close to where he hopes to open the micro pub.

He has tracked down a man who used to work there, who still lives in Faversham, and intends to talk to him to find out more.

Mr Sach, a member of the Arden Theatre Group, said: “I'm passionate about Faversham. I moved here in 1991 and it's the only place I've ever lived that feels like home. I wanted the bar to have a connection with Faversham.”

Furlong's would contain long benches and tables to encourage conversation between strangers.

Mr Sach hopes to open every day between noon and 3pm and again from 5pm to about 10pm, or later during events such as Faversham Hop Festival.

He added: “The response we have had so far has been fantastic. Councillors, publicans, business owners, breweries and members of the public are all telling me I have to go for it because it's what Faversham needs.

“The Micro Pub Association has been really helpful. Faversham is changing and people are coming into the town with different expectations. We have started to become a real food place and a micro pub can add to that.

Nuala Brenchley-Sayers, landlady of The "Old Wine Vaults" in Preston Street, believes the micro pub would benefit the town. She said: “It's very exciting and will bring more people into Faversham.”

Cllr Anita Walker, who has acted with Mr Sach at The Arden, said: “Fresh businesses are what we desperately need - and Andrew is a really nice man.”

Last month Swale Council approved a planning application to turn offices in Sittingbourne into The Paper Mill micro pub.

A micro pub, as defined by David Wallin, who produced the Bake and Ale House's website, simply means a small pub -but there are certain rules traditional micro pubs adhere to.
Most micro pubs are too small to have a bar and none of them have televisions, juke boxes or fruit machines.

Traditional micro pubs only sell real ale although many are now branching out to offer cider and specialist lager and spirits as well as soft drinks.

The Butcher's Arms in Herne is widely believed to have started the current micro pub revolution when it opened in 2005.