‘Watch this space!’ Ye Olde Fighting Cocks teases exciting upgrades
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks Landlord Christo Tofalli outside the pub which is in line for a £1 million revamp. Picture: Danny Loo - Credit: Archant
While St Albans’ oldest pub, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, has been unable to reopen due to space and costs, it says “this is not the end, it’s just the beginning” – with major refurbishments coming soon.
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks model. Photo: Fraser Whieldon - Credit: Archant
As many other pubs in the area prepared for a long-awaited reopening, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks made clear it would be unable to do so without making a loss.
That said, the popular boozer in Abbey Mill Lane has been offering takeaway food and drink at the weekends, and has big plans for when it reopens its doors completely.
Owner, Christo Toffali, took to the pub’s social media accounts and said: “We are feeling the love from all of you amazing people who are trying to book or just say hello. Your words of support are humbling. Thank you!
“Sadly for all of us, we are unable to open with distancing. We simply would not cover the fixed costs by a very long way. The losses would be enormous.
A model of the refurbishments being planned for Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. - Credit: Archant
“COVID-19 will go but we will and must be here long after it’s gone. The good bit of that is we can and must all think ahead of better times. I’m excited about that.
“This is not the end, it’s just the beginning of the very exciting new.
Most Read
- 1 Goods worth more than £260 in total stolen from St Albans Co-op store
- 2 Teenager ‘robbed at knife-point' by two males in Hemel Hempstead
- 3 Clarence Park deckchairs banned following council concerns
- 4 Church welcomes gay community event as part of St Albans Pub Pride
- 5 Recap: Two crashes disrupting M1 and M25 drivers near St Albans
- 6 Katherine Ryan and Romesh Ranganathan spotted filming in St Albans
- 7 Can you answer these 10 GCSE questions designed for 16-year-olds?
- 8 Man in his 20s stabbed in shopping area in Hemel Hempstead
- 9 Pantomime dame from Radlett appears on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent
- 10 Hertfordshire grandad who died in A6 Bugatti crash had a 'generous spirit'
“First small step. We will be open on sunny weekends for takeaway booze and barbecue from 12 noon to 4pm. That’s the only time we can open and make a small profit.
“We are all working hard behind the scenes, planning to open with the new ‘wow’. We are just about to release information on our plans for the extension that will make this pub truly one of the best in the country in every capacity, just as it should be.”
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks model. Photo: Fraser Whieldon - Credit: Archant
New features will include full access for customers with disabilities, a modern kitchen and a new yard.
Christo ended his announcement with a “watch this space”, with further announcements coming soon.
We’re looking forward to finding out more!
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks model. Photo: Fraser Whieldon - Credit: Archant
