Family brewer opens craft ale smokehouse site: A craft ale smokehouse pub restaurant, the Samuel Jones, created by St Austell Brewery, has opened on Exeter’s quayside. The brewer and retailer has invested £1.5 million in transforming a derelict 19th century former bonded warehouse in Commercial Road on The Quay into a barbecue and smokehouse-inspired venue which now boasts the most extensive range of craft beers in the West Country. The Samuel Jones serves a range of 18 craft ales from around the world including the USA and New World. The historic venue is situated in Exeter’s waterfront district, and it includes a 3,117 square foot main area and 586 square foot unit alongside, which has been transformed into an industrial-feel pub and restaurant. The first floor will be sub-let and used to create five residential flats. The new menu will include meats which have been smoked and cured in-house and cooked on chargrills and in barbecue ovens in an open, theatre-style kitchen. Adam Luck, estates director for St Austell Brewery, said: “The Samuel Jones is a new concept for St Austell Brewery as we wanted to create a venue with a unique selection of craft beers and an innovative menu designed for customers to enjoy matching food with different beers. The quayside is a fantastic location and we look forward to playing a major part in the continued growth and resurgence of the area.” St Austell Brewery has been brewing real ale in Cornwall since 1851, and runs 170 historic and picturesque pubs, hotels and inns across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. The brewery has bought two new pub venues in the last year, and completed a £2 million investment in a new cask operations plant at its base.

Rutland Inn Company to sell second pub to focus on Michelin-starred Olive Branch: The Rutland Inn Company, owners of The Red Lion Inn in Stathern, Leicestershire, is seeking an operator to take over the running of its award-winning Vale of Belvoir dining pub. It’s on the market for £595,000 and had net sales of £557,663 excluding VAT in the year to March 2014. Ben Jones and Sean Hope, the duo behind Rutland Inn Company – which also owns The Michelin-starred Olive Branch in Clipsham – have recently completed an extensive two-year refurbishment of The Red Lion Inn. The Stathern pub was named Leicestershire & Rutland Dining Pub of the Year 2015 in the latest Good Pub Guide and has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for several years. It is regularly mentioned in the national press as one of the UK’s top food-focused village inns and has recently been listed in The Times 25 Best Country Pubs for Food. Jones said: “We have run the Red Lion Inn for the past 12 years and both of us believe the time is right to find someone who can continue to successfully run and grow the business. This will allow us to focus more fully on The Olive Branch and to spend more time with our families. We believe that this is a wonderful opportunity for the right person and we are keen to find an operator who will continue to build on the offering that we have worked so hard to create.With more than a decade of experience running the Red Lion Inn, plus 15 years experience operating The Olive Branch and we would be keen to share our knowledge with the right person if they wished to do so.” The Red Lion Inn is available with Nottingham based agent Davey Co. (www.daveyco.com).