Two former school teachers have traded the classroom for the taproom - and can't wait to welcome punters into their pub later this week.
Frank and Jo Butt managed to swiftly launch a tearoom in a back room of the Angel Inn in August but have gone to great lengths to stamp their mark on the pub before opening it.
The couple have spent the past four months revamping the Loddon local and are promising to put a "twist" on the British pub.
Mr Butt said: "We’re so excited to be opening the pub in the evenings at last.
“It’s not the best time to open into the hospitality industry, we were stunned when our first electricity bill hit the mat.
“But we are here for the long term and feel if we offer something a bit different, we will be able to attract people from all around.”
With wine in the cellar and ale in the pumps, the couple is ready to go, but for Mr and Mrs Butt, it’s not just about having a drink at the local boozer.
Mr Butt said: “It’s about crafting a real experience for our customers.
“We want to be that quintessentially British pub with a twist, the atmosphere is equally important.
“We have the fires lit from early in the morning, but equally as important as a warm pub is a warm welcome too."
The business's ethos is to have a sustainable and largely locally sourced focus on ingredients.
Mr Butt bakes scones and baps daily using stone-ground flour from Letheringsett – the last remaining, working watermill in Norfolk.
He explained: “They use only top quality, local grain and don’t add anything to it.
"No preservatives, no raising agents nor stabilisers, and, above all, it’s not bleached.
“With our traditional fried breakfast, we use rare breed, free-range pork reared in the woods at Thatched House Farm, just around the corner.
“We have a ‘design your own menu’ – people can pick and choose.
"Vegetarians often choose the vine-ripened tomatoes, large flat mushrooms or griddled courgette.”
The pub's grand re-opening will be marked with an evening of jazz music on Thursday, December 8.
In the past, some members of the Loddon community might catch the bus into the city for a night out.
However, Mr and Mrs Butt are hoping to attract people from Beccles, Lowestoft, or Norwich.
“We want them to catch the X22 for the ‘Loddon experience’ – for some that might be a daytime walk followed by cream tea by the fire, for others, a fun night out,” Mr Butt said.
For more information see: https://www.theangelinnloddon.co.uk/
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