Community pub reopens its doors following six-figure investment
A Greenock pub has been given a new lease of life thanks to a six-figure investment from pub company Hawthorn Leisure.
Picture © Andy Buchanan
The former Waterline pub, which closed its doors in March of this year, has been rejuvenated through a £140,000 investment and has now reopened as Lithgows.
As part of the refurbishment, Lithgows had its interior overhauled, with new features including the installation of three large screens set into a painted mural of a football stadium.
With plans to regularly show both BT and Sky Sports games, Lithgows is being positioned by Hawthorn Leisure as a sports-led pub with a community focus.
The venue’s name was selected after a local poll and is a nod to a famous shipbuilding company that once operated in the area.
Lithgows is located in one of Inverclyde Council’s conservation areas – zones of special architectural or historic interest – and the team behind the venue is currently looking for a local charity to adopt to donate cash to from events.
The final decision on sponsored Lithgows charities is expected to be put in the hands of the locals through another poll.
For day to day running of the venue, Hawthorn Leisure has teamed up with local bar owner John Cairns.
Cairns said that all Lithgows customers will be considered “part of our family”. “Our friendly, welcoming atmosphere, synonymous with a true Scottish bar, will be absolutely at the heart of all we do,” he said.
“We’ll be delivering bar snacks to tables, serving bottles of beer in ice cold buckets and I know the dedicated pub game zone will be a huge hit with the locals.”
Mark McGinty, managing director of Hawthorn Leisure, said the firm is “really proud” to have opened the doors of a “popular local venue after a long period of closure”.
“We are delighted to work with a local businessman to bring the pub back into the heart of the community and to aid the creation of jobs in the area,” said McGinty.
Lithgows was officially re-opened on October 8 in a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by local MP Ronnie Cowan.
