Harbour Bar: New owner reveals plans for a makeover as historic Kirkcaldy bar set to re-open

New publican, Jon Stanley, is investing thousands of pounds in an interior renovation with plans to make it a real ale pub – with a Belgian twist.

As part of the renovations, he is looking to bring his love of Belgian bars and cafes to the town pub by creating a new lounge area with a continental flavour which will see locals offered hot chocolate, coffee, cakes and Belgian waffles along with other dishes.

But the 39-year-old says is still wants to retain the look of the original interior and most importantly, he wants to keep the pub’s name as it is.

The Harbour Bar had previously been owned for nearly 30 years by Nick Bromfield, who passed away last July.

Jon, who is aiming to re-open the pub next month, is looking forward to making his dream a reality: “I have had a passion for craft ale and brewing for at least 12 years now,” he said.

"I have developed my own yeast for brewing Belgian-type beer and my plan is for the Harbour Bar to be a self-sufficient brew pub.

"I got the keys at the end of January. I was looking for a pub with a loyal fan base but where I could have a small microbrewery at a later date - this one previously had a brewery and the outbuildings were here already.”

Jon, who originally trained in medicine, was once a member of UKIP, but quit the party in 2015 and stood down as parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale.

His love of Belgian pubs and cafes came from when he worked in the European Parliament in Brussels for a year: “There is a place next to the Parliament where there are bars and cafes so in your lunch or after work that is where you go.

" I noticed they tend to prioritise having good quality beer and food with no fuss. This is where the Belgian-influence came from.”

Jon, who is keen to put his own stamp on the High Street establishment, believes the refurbishment will cost around £50,000.

"I am going to replace the red decor with a dark mustard colour and put in some back-to-back seating. I am also hoping to put in chesterfield sofas in the lounge area,” he said.

“I want to bring the kitchen back into operation offering dishes like chicken breast in a French cream sauce, macaroni cheese, steak and chips, scampi, beef and chicken stews.”

When Nick passed away and the Harbour Bar was put on the market, locals launched a bid to purchase the pub and run it as a community enterprise, which didn’t happen.

But Jon is planning to create a special tribute to the previous owner.

He said: “One of the things Nick pushed when he was here was about educating people about craft beer and he pushed Citra Hops a lot.

"My intention – and I have spoken to his wife Gillie about it - is to create a beer in his memory which I am going to call Landlord.

"I think you have to pay a little bit of homage because he basically made this a real ale pub over many, many years.”

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