02/09/2009 - Landlord opens shop in spare room
A Staffordshire pub landlord has defied the recession by opening a newsagents in the spare room of his pub.
Ben Brettell saw trade in the Wetmore Whistle, in Burton upon Trent, slump by as much as 50% as regulars lost their jobs in nearby factories and stopped drinking.
But the landlord spotted an opportunity when the newsagents next to his pub shut down and he decided to fill the void with his spare room.
Trade has now picked up, and the pub also serves cooked breakfasts from 8am and puts on live music at weekends. The shop is open from 6am for 12 hours every day and the pub can sell alcohol from 8am until 2am.
He said: "When the shop next door closed down to become a chippie a customer asked me if I was going to start selling papers. In my infinite wisdom, I then decided to open a newsagents at the back.
"You have to think outside the box or you will die."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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