‘Don’t judge us, come and have a drink here’
LANDLADY HELPING TURN AROUND STEREOTYPES OF ‘FLAT-ROOFED’ PUBS
LANDLADY Kayleigh Foster loves The Running Man pub so much she lives there with her family and is very protective of all her customers.
Kayleigh took over the pub in Pellon Lane, Halifax, three years ago when, she admits, it was in a bit of a state. “It did have a bad reputation,” she recalls.
“It was a ‘wipe your feet on the way out’ kind of place and for some people it still has that reputation. I would say ‘don’t judge it - come in and have a look at it.’ It’s clean and it smells nice.”
Three years ago, she says, The Running Man was a “bit of a dump” but its been “ripped out from top to bottom” and has been repainted.
It was opened in 1970 as a Tetley’s Brewery pub - reportedly by footballer George Best - and is one of a declining number of ‘estate pubs’ in
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Yorkshire, many of them built from bricks, timber and concrete and sporting flat roofs.
The Examiner visited The Running Man on Friday afternoon for a chat with landlady Kayleigh, 34, and the pub’s owner, John Chew.
Kayleigh describes the clientele as “quite a nice crowd”, with a mixture of older regulars and younger drinkers and pool players who visit at weekends.
“It needed turning round when I took over,” says Kayleigh, a mum-ofthree from Brighouse who lives above the pub with partner Craig.
“When I took over the decor was dated. It was brown and probably nicotine-stained. The hygiene was disgusting - there were rats. Pest control had to come in.
“Now it is a family pub and kids are welcome - until 8pm.”
The full-time landlady, who used to run The Turnpike Inn at Rishworth Moor, near Sowerby Bridge, has made the pub her home and is loving life on Pellon Lane, which is just a five-minute walk from Halifax town centre.
Asked what she loves most about the pub, she says: “Probably the customers - I love them all. It is a family pub.”
Owner John Chew, who has owned the pub for 20 years, clearly enjoys having a pint with locals in The Running Man.
He said: “It’s more of a laugh in here. I know everybody.
“It was built by Tetley’s who reproduced the design in lots of different places.”
■■Do you run a flat-roof ‘estate pub’ in Yorkshire? Email: andrew. robinson@reachplc.com
Omega Holidays was established in 1979 and was family owned and managed until becoming part of the JG Travel Group in 2017. The family friendly approach to customer service remains a core part of the Omega offering.