save a family-run pub & restaurant

Due to the ever-increasing energy costs, The Old House at Home is facing potential closure; like so many excellent establishments within the hospitality industry, this one is slightly different.

Before we took over in 2018, the pub had been closed for almost four years. The pub was sold, and the owners wanted to develop it into private dwellings, like so many unloved pubs, but the villagers took the owners to court and got an order for the building to remain a pub. We came along just at the right time and, along with the building owners, proved that the Old House at Home was a viable business and an asset to the local community.

The Old House at Home has been here for many years, been owned by many breweries, many local families have worked generations in the pub. If only walls could talk, many a tale would be told. It is indeed part of the community. We must do all we can to preserve it.

We have worked hard to get it where it is, with various awards: ‘Best family run restaurant in Hampshire', ‘Leading purveyors of Hampshire Gins', ‘Best for Sunday Lunch’ and ‘Excellence Award for locally sourced ingredients, to name a few. It would be heartbreaking to see it all go now.

We managed to survive the Covid Crisis and ongoing lockdowns; we retained all our beloved staff and ensured all our bills were paid. Never could we have envisaged what would happen with ever-increasing energy prices. It is true for all businesses, there are only two ways to remain profitable: reducing costs and increasing revenues. We have worked tirelessly over the past year to trim away our expenditures. Until consumers regain confidence in the economy and themselves and are prepared to resume lifestyles that include dining out more frequently, there is little more that can be done to cut our expenses or raise our revenues beyond what we already have done. We are weathering the bad times, looking to survive until they become good again

Our GoFundMe campaign is one way we are working tirelessly to raise vital funds to keep us going. We aim to raise £15,000 to cover overhead costs, such as rent, bills and winter expenses. We have secured a new energy contract, but this doesn’t come into effect until summer 2023.

To be realistic, we need to reach the target figure as soon as possible. We have outlined a deadline date of December 2022.

We're aware that so many great independents are also struggling, so we aim to donate anything over the target to other local establishments or charities that need support.

To be able to reach the stated figure would mean so much to us. Our family/team will remain employed, and we will continue to grow. Further generations would work in the pub, stories would continue to grow and laughter would ring out for years to come.

Without your support, we could risk the possibility of losing all that we have all worked so hard for, including the local community, forever. This is not just a pub; this is a family business that we have put everything into financially and emotionally.

We are honoured to be the guardians of the Old House at Home and we would be eternally grateful to be able to continue to provide our services to many more people just like you.

Any support you can provide us, big or small, would be eternally grateful.

www.oldhousenewnham.uk