Ibbotson takes fourth pub

Michael Ibbotson and co-founder of Provenance Inns Chris Blundell have taken on the freehold of Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn in Marton-cum-Grafton, North Yorkshire.

The pub was run briefly by chef Richard Fox and actor Neil Morrissey and featured in the Channel 4 programme Perfect Pint.

Luci and Alex Matthews took over the pub in January last year.

The pub will undergo a “substantial” refurbishment including new furniture and a kitchen redevelopment.

“We are very excited about the Punch Bowl as we’ve known it a long time,” said Ibbotson. “It is a lovely pub with five open fires but the kitchen needs a lot of work and the bar and furniture are looking a bit tired.”

The pub’s rooms will be refurbished at a future date when the pub’s food and drink offer is established.

Ibbotson estimates the business will level out at about 50:50 food and drink in the 94-seat venue.

“Our inns serve quality, well-presented food,” he said. “We are very much pubs that encourage locals and drinkers.

“We bake our own bread and make our own ice cream. Our food uses the best produce in traditional ways. We’re not making mousses and foams, but just good food with slick service.”

Provenance Inns promotes internally where possible and both an assistant manager and a sous chef in the company will be moving up to general manager and head chef in Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn.

The company boasts flagship site the Durham Ox in Crayke, the Oak Tree Inn at Helperby and the Carpenters Arms at Felixkirk, all in North Yorkshire.

The Carpenters Arms won Best Freehouse Pub in the Great British Pub Awards 2011. The pub is currently undergoing work to build eight bedrooms.

The sites are all around 25 minutes apart to avoid overlaps in terms of trade and the business partners are still looking for suitable freehold “village inns in villages you would like to live in” in North Yorkshire.