The Friar on St Christopher Road in Colchester, Essex, welcomed customers through its doors on Friday 31 May.
Previously a Greene King Pub Partners tenanted site, the Friar has benefitted by a £265,000 investment into new décor, fixtures and fittings throughout in line with the Nest Pubs style.
In addition, a pool table and interactive dartboards have also been installed at the pub.
Outside, the Friar has been fully upgraded with an improved outdoor space and all-new signage, including a Nest Pubs sign next to the front door of the pub.
New chapter
The Friar will be operated by Deborah Macklin, who worked at the pub under the previous operator when it was a tenanted site.
Regarding the opening, Macklin said: “I am delighted to become the franchisee of the Friar. Having had experience of running this pub already, operating it as a franchise in partnership with Greene King is perfect for me.
“With my links to the local community and experience at the pub, I can focus on running a great pub operation knowing I have the full support of Greene King and their expertise right behind me. It’s an exciting new chapter for me and the pub and I can’t wait to get started.”
Last month saw the pubco open two Nest pubs, the Highwood in Solihull and the Palmer Tavern in Reading, following its launch earlier this year.
Nest Pubs is the second franchise concept from Greene King Pub Partners, following the success of Hive Pubs, which was launched in 2021 and now has a portfolio of more than 50 sites, and is made of wet-led pubs predominantly located on busy high streets and in communities.
Quick succession
The concept has its own unique identity, look and feel – and each pub shows Sky Sports and TNT Sports as well as regular entertainment and a pizza food offer alongside a great drink selection.
Nest pubs are aimed at those with hospitality management experience who want to run their own business with enhanced support for an in-going cost of £3,000.
Franchisees earn through a percentage of the net weekly turnover of their pub, alongside a quarterly percentage of business profits and annual bonuses.
Greene King Pub Partners managing director Dan Robinson said: “The Friar is Nest Pub number four and we’re really pleased to be opening yet another in very quick succession from our previous openings.
“The whole team in Pub Partners have done a great job keeping up the pace as we continue to open more Nest Pubs.”
