A Hove pub is to reopen early next month, specialising in craft beer and shellfish.
Building work is currently under way as the owners of the pub – formerly the Bell and previously the Belfast – prepare to open the premises as the Urchin.
The new team includes Nick Jerrim, 42, who until recently was the manager of the Royal Oak in Poynings.
He is backed by Nigel Lambe and Brad Jacobson, the owners of the Brighton and Hove coffee shop chain Small Batch.
Mr Lambe runs the Velo Café on The Level, with a second site about to open at Brighton Station. He previously ran WJ King, the Horsham brewer.
The Bell shut at the end of November, shortly after the Enterprise Inns pub changed hands.
Mr Lambe said that a six-figure sum had been invested in the Urchin and, as well as craft beer and shellfish, the pub would sell Brighton Gin.
Having distilled 400 bottles of the new drink in hand-crafted batches and tested it through local outlets, he is ready to step up production.
He said that it was available from places such as Butlers and Quaff off-licences and Hisbe supermarket, with sample bottles in local pubs.
“We couldn’t quite keep up with demand,” he added, promising more to come.
