First opened by Roger Wilson in 1976, the Viking is located at Crouch Green and was originally a restaurant and night club.
According to an article by the Gazette Standard, the business was originally extended three times and added an additional one-acre carpark to facilitate their enhanced trade levels.
In 1981, Wilson took the decision to rebuild the site and name it Memories Café Bar, after a vast majority of the 16th century building was destroyed during a fire.
Site history
The venue went on to offer late night music and was later transformed into a takeaway Chinese during 1993.
After 49 years of conducting business, Roger has recently announced his retirement along with the sale of the Viking pub and Memories.
A spokesperson for the venue stated: “Unfortunately, Castle Hedingham and the surrounding villages are now going to lose their beloved Chinese due to the new owners wanting to make a lot of alternatives to the building over the next six months.
“Head Malaysian chef Alex is also retiring and they do not intend to carry on with the Chinese food which leaves the door open for someone else to come along to keep it going after 32 years.”
Future plans
The new owners of the site have aims or reopening during July 2025.
A spokesperson for the Memories said: “New Year’s Eve was a very emotional night for Roger and all of his staff.”
Roger, according to the spokesperson expressed his thanks for the “hundreds and thousands” of staff and customers alike that helped keep the Viking and Memories functioning.
He also wished the new owners success in their new ventures with the site in the future.
