“It’s exciting and scary at the same time,” Mike Dove from The Three Horseshoes in Witney tells me as we discuss their new pub The White Swan in Whitchurch, situated between Bicester and Aylesbury.
Having been handed the keys yesterday, the team said it was love at first sight when they found the 16th century partly thatched hostelry: “We knew as soon as we walked in that it was the site we’d been looking for because it ticked all the boxes,” Hannah Walker explains.
“It’s a beautiful little old pub with a massive garden, and has so much potential for music and charity events. We can do so much there,” she adds.
‘It’s a beautiful little old pub with a massive garden, and has so much potential’
“And we’ve spoken to lots of the locals and they are desperate to have their village pub back because it’s the only pub in the village, so the feedback has already been really positive.”
Mike Dove, Hannah, Amanda Dove and Tommy Higgs took over Witney’s Three Horseshoes in February 2023 READ ABOUT IT HERE but the plan was always to expand their portfolio.
“The Three Horseshoes will always be our baby but we have been on the look out for new opportunities since opening. We’ve gone round quite a few places, but none of them were quite right until we found The White Swan and knew our search was over,” Mike explains.
‘The Three Horseshoes will always be our baby’
“So yes this has been on our agenda for a while but the plan is to recreate what we have here at “The Shoes’, and have a great team to put in The White Swan, that we trust implicitly.
Ryan Hunt our new GM was running The Halfway at Kineton with Nathan Eades until recently and we have been friends for 20 years, so he’s always been at the front of our minds in terms of opening somewhere new and this is perfect timing.
‘We like to think The Horseshoes is a little bit special because it has such a welcoming and inclusive vibe, and that’s what we plan to recreate at The White Swan’
“And we’ve got a great head chef Brett Sewell to run the kitchens there. Put it this way, the stars are aligned,” Mike adds.
Work has already begun on the 16th century Whitchurch pub, to bring it in line with ‘The Shoes’ quirky, welcoming ethos: “We like to think that The Horseshoes is a little bit special because it has such a welcoming and inclusive vibe, and that’s what we plan to recreate at The White Swan. It’s very homely so we plan to make it really cosy and comfy while putting our mark on it,” Hannah says
“But to be honest it’s such a stunning building that it sells itself and we will be respectful of that,” Mike adds.
‘We don’t want to replicate the menu exactly but it will have the same feel – good quality food and value for money’
The previous tenants at The White Swan moved on a few months ago so the plan is to reopen it on November 1, ready for Christmas and New Year.
So will the food be the same as “The Shoes’? “Not exactly,” Mike says. “We don’t want to replicate the menu exactly but it will have the same feel – good quality food and value for money.
“But we want to create the same atmosphere, so whether people come in for a coffee or dinner they feel equally welcome. We want people to enjoy themselves which is why we aim to embrace the local community and work with them, because that’s what hospitality should be about.”
“So yes it’s very exciting. But don’t worry, we won’t take our eye off the ball in Witney. The Three Horseshoes is our first born and our prime focus which is why we needed to find such a strong team for Whitchurch – to be able to trust them with what they are doing, to run it for us.”
“So we expect Ryan to put his own stamp on The White Swan and to be the face of it. But behind the scenes we will give him all the same passion, support and focus that we put into The Shoes.”
As for the future, Mike says it was always the plan to open a stream of pubs, but they won’t be thinking about the next one until The White Swan is up-and-running.
Watch this space for more details on The White Swan and follow them on Instagram at @whiteswanwhitchurch
