Croeso Pubs Ltd has officially opened The Bear’s Head in Penarth with a little help from former rugby star turned Fab Four coffee connoisseur Lee Byrne.
The South Wales pub chain already runs seven venues including The Philharmonic and Brewhouse in Cardiff city centre, and now its latest acquisition in Windsor Road, Penarth, formerly run by JD Wetherspoons, is back open with some special extras.
The Bear’s Head has always been hugely popular with Penarth locals due to its bottomless coffee, but soon regulars will be able to enjoy the try-mendous custom-made Croeso coffee blend all day long, thanks to a collaboration with Fab Four Coffee – a coffee company run by former Wales rugby star Lee Byrne and his teammates Shane Williams andJames Hook.
The Croeso coffee blend will also be introduced across all of Croeso’s venues in the coming weeks, allowing all its customers to enjoy the custom-made coffee with a Welsh twist.
In keeping with all of Croeso’s establishments like the Daffodil in Windsor Place and The Discovery in Lakeside, the food and drink at The Bear’s Head has a distinctly Welsh flavour with fresh meat from Rib and Oyster, fresh produce from Castell Howell, and Welsh ales from Glamorgan Brewing, including its very own Bear’s Head Ale, and as well as a selection of Welsh gins, rums and vodkas.
Croeso Pubs committed to retaining as many aspects of The Bear’s Head as possible, but it has invested significantly in the premises, including the introduction of live sport from Sky, Amazon, TNT and Viaplay packages.
Director Simon Little said: “It’s brilliant to add this much-loved Penarth pub to our growing portfolio and we’ve always been clear about delivering what the people of Penarth want in their local pub. What was really important to us – and to the locals – was that that we didn’t change what is already a winning formula at The Bear’s Head.
“But we did want to add extras that would make it even more special. We’ve done some work over the summer and it’s wonderful to finally open the doors to this beautiful boozer. The prices have largely remained the same and we’ve also introduced enhancements like welcoming well-behaved dogs, satellite TV showing live sports events, as well as the option to book your favourite table. And, of course, we’ve introduced our new blend of Croeso coffee that we will be introducing to all our establishments in the coming weeks.”
Former Wales and British Lions rugby international Lee Byrne, who kicked off the pub’s first official coffee morning, said it was a pleasure to see the much-loved pub back open – and to see people enjoying the Croeso coffee blend.
Lee said: “It’s great to work alongside Croeso Pubs to produce a new coffee blend for customers at The Bear’s Head. It’s a fab venue to enjoy a bottomless cup of coffee and I’m sure the locals will be very pleased it’s back open. We’re looking forward to introducing our coffee into all of Croeso’s venues and hope their customers like it as much as we do.”
The Bear’s Head is the second ‘community pub’ for Croeso Pubs – in December last year it carried out a £400,000 renovation to the The Discovery in Lakeside, Cardiff. It has also extended the Blue Bell in Cardiff’s city centre – moving into the former Brew Monster bar next door. And in January 2023, it also acquired the lease for The Dock in Cardiff Bay.
Croeso Pubs also has a great track record of breathing new life into venues. It took over the lease for The Philharmonic and reopened it in 2017 following a £1million refurbishment, transforming it into Cardiff’s most popular nightspot. It also took over former Brains’ pub 33 Windsor Place in December 2022 and reopened it as the Daffodil, a food-led venue, which has gone from strength to strength. While in 2021, Croeso Pubs refurbished the former Goat Major pub on High Street, opposite Cardiff Castle, and reinstated it to its original name Blue Bell. Then in March 2023, it also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of Cardiff’s best loved sport and live music venue, Brewhouse.
