Landlord diversifies in bid to secure pub’s future (From York Press)
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Landlord of White Horse in Poppleton diversifies in bid to secure pub's future
8:32am Saturday 1st December 2012 in Pints of View
By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk
White Horse owner Sean Singleton and Lumja Lounge manager Mohsin Khan
A VILLAGE pub near York is looking to the East in an attempt to diversify and bring more customers to the door.
The White Horse in Poppleton is now welcoming diners to its Indian restaurant, The Lumja Lounge, which landlord Sean Singleton is hoping will secure the business’s future.
Mr Singleton, 51, has teamed up with the owners of York’s successful Jaipur Spice restaurants to transform a formerly under-used area of the White Horse into a VIP eating area and takeaway service.
He said: “I was sat on my own in here one night and I thought ‘what can I do because the businesses isn’t working on its own’.
“We had one big room which we hardly used – we only used it for our carvery on Sunday, which we are still doing, so I invited Kalique Zaman, an old friend from Jaipur Spice, to come and have a look.”
The pair recognised the potential of the site, following a similar plan at The Old Grey Mare in Clifton Green, and only three months after the initial idea, the Lumja Lounge held its opening night on Wednesday.
Restaurant manager, Mohsin Khan, 26, said: “People love drinks and curry – they go hand-in-hand together. I ran a very similar thing at the Old Grey Mare and it works perfectly as a business model. Poppleton is a good place to open a restaurant.”
Mr Singleton said: “We have had to do this otherwise we wouldn’t have been here much longer. It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of pressure, but you only get out what you put in.”
The Lumja Lounge can seat 70 to 80 people and is open seven days a week.
Comments(16)
Buzz Light-year
says...
9:16am Sat 1 Dec 12
roskoboskovic wrote:Yes.
pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.
sheps lad
says...
11:04am Sat 1 Dec 12
Buzz Light-year wrote:Yes what?
roskoboskovic wrote:Yes.
pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.
Kelly Smunt
says...
11:09am Sat 1 Dec 12
sheps lad wrote:Yes indeed.
Buzz Light-year wrote:Yes what?
roskoboskovic wrote:Yes.
pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.
Buzz Light-year
says...
11:47am Sat 1 Dec 12
Kelly Smunt wrote:Yes we have no bananas?
sheps lad wrote:Yes indeed.Buzz Light-year wrote:Yes what?roskoboskovic wrote: pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.Yes.
RingoStarr
says...
12:12pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Buzz Light-year wrote:Kelly Smunt?? Nurely shot!
Kelly Smunt wrote:Yes we have no bananas?
sheps lad wrote:Yes indeed.Buzz Light-year wrote:Yes what?roskoboskovic wrote: pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.Yes.
Jazzper
says...
12:44pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Buzz Light-year wrote:Are you one of these 'Yes Men' ?
roskoboskovic wrote:Yes.
pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.
Buzz Light-year
says...
1:41pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Jazzper wrote:Um... yes and no.
Buzz Light-year wrote:Are you one of these 'Yes Men' ?roskoboskovic wrote: pray tell.what is a VIP eating area and how many VIP s do you get in poppleton.Yes.
marvell
says...
2:21pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Old_Man
says...
2:24pm Sat 1 Dec 12
fear your government
says...
3:19pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Old_Man wrote:dont knock the cab!
Roskoboskovic... Where do you drink yourself? I ask because you are constantly criticising good pubs and good ideas in this column and many others. Are you a Hansom Cab man? Melbourne man? Or just an a**ehole?
idlehousewife
says...
4:13pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Even AndyD
says...
6:53pm Sat 1 Dec 12
idlehousewife wrote:The Press are directly quoting, so not an error.
Grammar please York Press - 'I was sitting' not 'I was sat '.
Pedantry aside, I am looking forward to giving it a whirl next week. Just what Poppleton needs! :)
Omega Point
says...
8:13pm Sat 1 Dec 12
Vindaloo ingested, perilous
hikerman
says...
11:18am Mon 3 Dec 12
Big Bad Wolf
says...
3:12pm Mon 3 Dec 12
Not enough punters to fill the back rooms of the pus, so they lease them out to Indian restaurants. And very good value too.
roskoboskovic says...
9:12am Sat 1 Dec 12