A LOCAL business owner is confident he can rejuvenate a Wrexham pub that was once a town favourite.

Graham Price, from Wrexham, recently became co-owner of The Boat Inn at Erbistok, a pub that sits on The River Dee, and was once one of the most popular pubs in the local area.

Mr. Price told The Leader that the decision to take on the pub was not a long-term plan, but more of a snap decision.

“I’ve lived not far from The Boat for 20 years, and I’ve always thought it was a marvellous pub.

“To tell you the truth it wasn’t a particularly financially driven or logical decision to buy, it was more of an emotional one.

“It’s sad to see that in recent years it’s not been quite as successful as it once was, and I’ve always had thoughts in my mind about what I would do with it if it was mine.

“One day my friend rang me up and he asked me what I thought about buying it, and I just said go on then.

“It’s a beautiful little pub, it oozes character. Couple that with its setting, the history of it, and the fact its not far from my home, and in the end, I just couldn’t say no.

Mr. Price took to his Linked In profile to further explain his passion for his new investment.

“Is being seduced by a local pub stupid? sustainable? Or even legal? And would anyone like to join my “love in”?

“The Boat at Erbistock has to be the Catherine Zeta Jones of pubs. Modest in stature with obvious abundant charms and a story to tell, she sits alluringly watching the river Dee wend its way through stunning Welsh countryside on its journey to and through historic Chester.

“Having left my beloved Brunning and Price, ditched my operator's hat and moved into the world of “adviser” I feel I’ve just had a Steve Redgrave moment and, despite all other previous intentions, climbed back into the boat and bought this pub!

“It’ll be hard work, time consuming and probably quite painful but developing foodie country pubs is what I do, and love and I simply couldn’t resist.

“The Boat has gone adrift and needs TLC and fresh ideas to get her back to her best. Listed, she sits in a conservation area and needs altering, so the challenges are numerous but she’s special and I’m optimistic and very excited about her potential.”

To conclude, Mr. Price said that if he could successfully implement all the plans he has in place, then he’s positive that he can rejuvenate the pub.

“You know you can never be one hundred percent certain with these things but yeah, we want to move the bar into the centre of the pub, we want to serve top quality food, we want to redo the toilets and importantly, we want to reintroduce the ferry crossing round the back, and if we can do all of those things, then I’m confident we can pick the place back up again.

“I’m very excited, I’m passionate, there’s so much still to do, I mean, we’ll be lucky if we can get the place open by September.

“There’s just this wonderful glow you get when you can take something like The Boat and make it feel special again, make it prosper.

“It’s a joyous feeling, and that’s what I have right now.”