Northumberland micropub owner's pride at creating much-loved community hub at The Foxes Den in Felton
A former customer who took on the running of a village micropub has spoken of his pride at the venue’s role in the community.
The Foxes Den in Felton has a five-star rating on TripAdvisor and is among the top ranked village pubs in Northumberland on Google.
John Cruden took on the pub in 2022 despite having no prior experience in the hospitality trade.
However, with the hands on help of Allyson Mackenzie, who has been at the Den since 2016, the cellar bar beneath the Running Fox cafe has continued to flourish.
"We were customers and in that post-lockdown period when we heard that the previous owner was inviting prospective buyers,” recalled John, the proprietor at Airbourne Motor Engineers in Ashington.
“It was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee when we officially took over and the support from the local community since then has been fantastic.
"We managed to get Allyson back on the team and she’s been brilliant. She’s been a stalwart at the pub since it first opened.”
He believes the winning formula at the tiny 7m x 6m venue has been a renewed focus on quality Northumbrian beers.
"We just haven’t got the space for a kitchen to be doing food so we’re very much focussed on supporting local brewers and serving up a reasonably priced pint,” he says.
The Foxes Den was also the first pub in Northumberland to serve the Hawkstone range of lager and cider brewed using barley grown on Jeremy Clarkson's Cotswold farm.
“He’s done a lot to raise awareness about the importance of looking after mental health and that’s a key part of our model too,” explains John. “We want to have a space where people can come in and have a chat.”
The venue has also played its role in the local community, such as at the annual Feltonbury music festival, and has acted as a warm hub during wintry weather. It also hosts quiz nights and even a children’s chess club when the pub is closed.
"We’ve had three great years and feel like we’ve created a real community hub,” says John. “We’re very proud of what we’ve done – and that people seem to like it – and we’re very much looking forward to the future.”