Traditional ways could be popular pub's saving grace

Mr Taylor has reopened The Beresford after it had stood empty for three months to raise fears it could become a victim of the national crisis sweeping the industry.

He is determined to ensure the Elmer Road hostelry thrives once again. To do that, he intends to emphasis the values which had made it a success.

"When I first came here, I looked around and thought it was a beautiful, traditional pub," he explained.

"That made me realise the best way to run it was to go back to a traditional way of doing things.

"The decor is traditional, the staff are wearing a traditional-style uniform and the menu is featuring traditional food.

"It's all home-cooked on the premises and made using local and organic produce where possible."

The emphasis on pubs from the past means there will be no room for Sky Sports or a pool table in the 'new look' Beresford.

But Mr Taylor makes no apologies for leaving out such entertainment. "I definitely think local pubs have a future.

"But you have to make going to them more of an occasion for people," he explained.

"If they are only going to visit a pub once or twice a week, instead of four or five times, you have to make sure they have a really good experience from the moment they walk in to the time they leave.

"That is all about providing an environment they can relax and enjoy themselves in. That's what we intend to provide here."

Mr Taylor (51) reopened The Beresford on Good Friday. The pub closed early this year while Scottish and Newcastle Pub Enterprises searched for someone to take it on.

It was bought by a local businessman to add to his three other pubs in the area. Mr Taylor decided to join the venture after many years of managing pubs for national companies. He spent eight years at The Southdowns in Felpham.

"I wanted to be involved in a smaller operation where I could make decisions about what was best for an individual pub as opposed to having decisions made on what was best for 560 pubs," he explained.

He expects to hire up to 18 staff to once again turn The Beresford into a hive of activity.

His arrival there also marks a return to his family's roots as much as those of the pub.

A curious twist of fate sees him working 100 yards from Rose Cottage where his father lived before he moved to Lancashire more than half a century ago.

Mr Taylor's grandfather on his dad's side was a lay preacher at a church in Bersted.

"All my ancestors on that side of my family came from around this area," he adds.

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