WORK is currently underway to transform a pub which has been taken over by a Winchester pub/brewery.

The Willow Tree on Durngate Terrace is to be run by The Queen Inn after it closed just before Christmas, with the takeover being announced in a post on Facebook.

Co-owner of The Queen Inn Jenny Small said: “We said to them, at the beginning of last year, that in the future we would be looking for another property because The Queen was doing reasonably well. It’s come out of Covid, it’s doing okay after Covid, so we wanted to take on another one.

READ MORE HERE: The Willow Tree pub set to close

“And then late last year they came to us saying that the people were leaving here, would we like to take it on?”

Hampshire Chronicle: The Queen Inn and Willow Tree co-owners Iain Warren and Jenny SmallThe Queen Inn and Willow Tree co-owners Iain Warren and Jenny Small (Image: Newsquest)As part of the takeover the pub is being fully refurbished, with space set aside for both a new lounge and a more formal sit-down dining space which will hold around 50 people. However, the refurbishment will not be the only changes that will be made when the pub re-opens.

READ MORE: Country pub tackles rising costs by closing extra day - and it's been well received

Iain Warren, who co-owns The Queen Inn with Jenny, said: “All the food will be stepped up a level, it will be all prepped here. We have a chef who works for The Queen for the moment; he’s going to come here and run the kitchen here, and everything about him is fresh, fresh, fresh. So, nothing is brought in, none of the food is brought in, so that’s how the kitchen’s going to change.”

He continued: “The drinks range; obviously at The Queen we have a brewery, where we make our own beer. So, we’re fortunate enough that they are going to allow us to sell that beer here.”

Jenny and Iain told the Chronicle that The Willow Tree will also continue to sell Greene King beer alongside other local beers, with full table service available for customers alongside bar service.

Iain said that he hopes people will “come down and give it a go.”

Iain and Jenny were unable to give the Chronicle a set date for reopening, saying they are aiming for the beginning of March.