Community Inspired revamp of The Inn Collection Group hostelry

Bringing old inn back to life The Inn Collection Group has marked a decade of trading at its original new-build pub with rooms with a refurbishment designed to celebrate its surrounding community. The refurbishment of The Hog’s Head Inn site in Alnwick, Northumberland features bespoke tractor tables and an agricultural theme in a show of support towards the surrounding farming and rural business community, while bespoke murals and commissioned artworks champion the local district. The north east based hospitality group reopened The Hog’s Head Inn in time to mark ten years of trading as the group’s first new-build food-driven pub with rooms. The significant refurbishment includes remodelling of the inn’s bar and dining areas including feature booth seating areas and outdoor pergolas, raised seating areas and new breakfast and buffet server spaces. The refurbishment also saw each of the inn’s 56 ensuite bedrooms and manager’s accommodation suite undergo full upgrades. General manager Sean Schofield said: “We are delighted with The Hog’s Head Inn’s fresh new look which was inspired by and celebrates the community around us, including local farmers and the rural businesses. It offers our customers a relaxed yet quality environment to eat, drink or stay with their family and friends. “The refurb took three months and the inn was closed for five weeks while a top to toe revamp took place and it has been worth the wait. It makes our ten-year anniversary even more special and is a lovely way to give back to locals and our guests who have supported us since we opened and applauds the community here in Alnwick." The Hog’s Head Inn’s ten-year anniversary coincides with the appointment of talented new head chef Jonny McManus. A former head chef at Alnwick Castle for seven years, Jonny said: “As a local lad I am excited to be joining The Hog’s Head Inn. I am looking forward to building on the inn’s strong food credentials with an exciting new offering that matches the energy of the refurb. “We want to appeal not just to people visiting the area but to local people living in and around Alnwick as a place to enjoy good family dining.” A former chef lecturer at Northumberland College, Jonny is passionate about good, British-produced food and sharing his love and talent for cooking with a new generation of chefs. Jonny said: “I spent three years as chef lecturer at Northumberland College and am excited to be using that experience to build and train a young team of chefs at The Hog’s Head Inn working closely with The Inn Collection Group’s chef academy that encourage more people to discover and enjoy hospitality as a rewarding and dynamic career path.” The Hog’s Head Inn first opened its doors in 2012 as a purpose built 53-bedroom pub with rooms in Alnwick as a partnership between The Inn Collection Group and Northumberland Estates. The expanding 31-site group has a further four pubs with rooms in Northumberland as well as sites in the Lake District, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, North Yorkshire, Lancashire and North Wales. Picture caption: The Hog’s Head Inn’s interiors celebrate the local community including farming and rural business with bespoke tractor tables and commissioned murals and artwork.