Chesterfield pub's new tenants welcome customers on Christmas Day night

Sophie and Dan Orton will celebrate their first Christmas at The Bridge Inn on Hollis Lane by welcoming customers through the doors from 7pm on December 25.

Mum of two Sophie said: “To my knowledge we’ll be the only one in Chesterfield that is open in the evening – normally it’s daytime for pubs. We want to have Christmas Day with our children and be upstairs to see them enjoying time with their toys until the youngest goes to bed.”

The couple, who have a son Reuben, 9, and daughter Jasmine 1, reopened The Bridge Inn in early December after it had been closed for six months.

Customers have given the family a welcome that is as warm as the open fire for which the pub is renowned. Sophie, who is Bolsover born and bred, said: “It’s been a brilliant welcoming so far. All the regulars are coming back and are extremely happy to see us open. They are all into the idea that we want it to be a family-run, family-friendly pub. We have felt more welcomed in here than a lot of places we have been into as customers.”

The Bridge Inn has a 24-hour licence and up until its closure was where the Bridge Inn Blues Away Travel Club coaches would pick up and drop off Chesterfield FC supporters. Sophie said: “When Chesterfield football club had away games the fans used to meet in The Bridge Inn and the coaches would park up next to the pub. If they had to leave at 9am, the pub would open at 6am to allow them to come in and have a drink or a coffee. They would go to the match and then be dropped off outside the pub for a drink, whether to drown their sorrows or celebrate. When The Bridge Inn closed they had to look for some other premises and contracts were signed with a different establishment. We’re fighting to get them back and are in early talks.”

Fired up with ideas for the freehold pub which family members have helped to redecorate, Sophie said: “There are plans in January to upgrade the cellar system to a smart dispense system such as what you'd have in Wetherspoons which will make a complete change to the top of the bar area where we have currently individual draught pulls. Four of the draughts will be on one copper bridge and there will be two of those to blend in with the copper bar.

"Food is in the plan for next year. It won't be full-on meals as there is a very small kitchen but it will be things like a basket of chips or stew with crusty cobs. I am in talks with a few vendors to have pizza vans for stone-baked pizzas and burger vans to help with that.

"There are also plans to sort out the decking on the back which is a massive sun trap. It's either going to be ripped up or relaid ready for the spring/summer.

"We're doing a quiz every Sunday night. There’s karaoke and disco every fortnight with a gentleman who has done it here for years. We are planning on having Scott Anson, an actor on Coronation Street, do some singing for us next year. We want to support local singer-songwriters who want to get into the music industry and are reaching out to see what feedback we get.”

Dan, 38, and Sophie, 29, have previously run a couple of pubs in Sussex where Dan worked as an avionics engineer on aircraft.

Sophie said: "We saw The Bridge Inn and it was one of those opportunities that we didn't want to miss. The Bridge Inn has been waiting to have the right people going into it with the love and passion that me and Daniel both share.”

Prior to their daughter’s birth, Sophie worked as a carer for AMG Nursing and Care Services in the Chesterfield area. Dan is employed as an engineer by Crossrail and is working on the signalling for the new Elizabeth line in London.