A farewell party will be turned into a celebration after news that a well-loved Norwich pub will be saved from closure.
The landlords at The Brickmakers on Sprowston Road, have received confirmation of an offer of a new lease from Ei Publican Partnerships meaning they will stay on at the pub for a further five years.
The offer follows months of uncertainty for the popular Norwich music venue, which started in September when the team behind the pub revealed they would step down at the end of January after lease talks with pub's owner broke down.
The news sparked a huge reaction.
A petition launched by the Norwich Evening News to keep the pub open was signed by more than 17,000 people and a Friends group was set up to help boost the pub's income.
Now, following weeks of talks with Ei, the team at The Brickmakers have received confirmation of an agreeable offer.
Charley South, one of the pub's landlords said the new lease was a great way to start the new year.
She said: 'It has been a bit like a roller coaster, full of extreme moments when we thought we were leaving and had a lot to do with dilapidation statement of works, which would have cost us around £60,000.
'Then we weren't leaving and then we were again.'
She said that despite the uncertainty the support the venue had received from the community had been 'overwhelming'.
She said: 'It makes you realise how much The Brickmakers means to people all across the city, we even had bands message us from Europe, it was really amazing to see how far The Brickmakers has reached.
'We would have never made it this far with Ei without the support from everyone, it has been extremely overwhelming to know how much we mean to people.
'Our customers are just amazing and the support for the Norwich music scene is amazing, I don't think anybody could have estimated how important it is to the city,' she said.
Celebrating the new lease, on Saturday, January 19, the date originally put aside for the venue's farewell party The Brickmakers will host a resurrection party.
Ms South said; 'It'll be nice to let our hair down, and look to the next five years.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here