New licensees Elaine and Stuart Burlingham with their son George after taking over at The Moonrakers in Devizes
TWO former Devizes school pupils are the latest licencees to take over pubs in the town,
Both Elaine Burlingham who has taken over the tenancy of the Moonrakers in Nursteed Road with her husband Stuart, and Ian Quigley the new licencee of the Four Seasons believe they have what it takes to succeed.
The Burlinghams have taken over the Moonraker from Martin and Gail Bonnici who were at the Wadworth owned pub for only a year.
Mr and Mrs Burlingham, who live in Calne, have run the Soho pub in Calne, another Wadworth owned pub, for five years and will continue to do so. Their chef from the Soho, Lee Dennis, will oversee the menu at the Moonrakers.
Mrs Burlingham was born in Devizes and went to Devizes School.
She and her husband, who have a 13-month-old son George, have installed new ovens in the kitchen, are changing the bars and plan to make the garden larger. Once that is done they want to involve local children in creating a mural about the Moonraker legend on a fence in the garden.
Mrs Burlingham said: "It's very exciting taking over the Moonrakers. It's definitely going to be a challenge which is what me and Stuart are all about.
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"We like picking up somewhere that hasn't been doing so well and bringing it back to life, which is what we did at the Soho.
"At the Moonrakers we will have good pub food, like steak pies and home made lasagne as well as fillet steak, and we are going to promote Sunday roast dinners."
MINE HOST: Ian Quigley is the new licensee of the Four Seasons
Paul Sullivan, marketing manager at Wadworth, said: "Elaine and Stuart have an exceptionally good track record with what they have done at the Soho. They are driven completely by customer service. I think when Martin and Gail Bonnici started at the Moonrakers their food offering was exceptionally good but maybe it was too restauranty or top end of the market and business faded."
Mr Quigley is the new leaseholder of the Punch owned Four Seasons pub in High Street.
Mr Quigley and his wife Lisa, who have taken it over from Gary MacMartin, will continue as tenants of the Kings Arms in Market Lavington, a Wadworth pub which they have run for 18 months.
Mr Quigley, a former Devizes School pupil, used to drink in the Four Seasons and wants to attract customers of all ages. The new chef is Andrew Bartlett, who used to be head chef at Erlestoke Sands Golf Club.
Mr Quigley said: "I've always liked the Four Seasons. It's got a lovely dining area and our food will be freshly made. There will be a wide variety of food and a separate menu in the evening."
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