New owners for The Bell Inn

Roy and Sally Goodger take over at The Bell as Peter and Nicky retire, leaving big shoes to fill!

On 28 October 2019, ownership of The Bell transfers to Roy and Sally Goodger, who are looking to continue the success of the business Peter and Nicky have built over the last 9 years. Sally and I have wanted to buy and run our own pub for many years now and this year we decided to take the plunge. We searched high and low for the perfect place and think we have found it in The Bell. We firmly believe in the value of pubs being the hubs of our rural communities and offering great food, drink and entertainment without breaking the bank. Peter and Nicky have developed a fantastic business which we intend to work hard to continue.

Sally and I have moved from a village in the Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire to realise this dream. Devon was an obvious choice for the search, as I spent many a happy family holiday here as a child, staying at Smytham Manor near Great Torrington and Sally went to Marjons in Plymouth for university, so fell for the county back then. We've both worked in the hospitality industry in the past - I managed pubs and Sally worked in restaurants. However, we admit this was a while ago, having pursued different careers more recently - building and charity management respectively. So, it will be a case of brushing off some cobwebs in terms of remembering how everything works, plus updating our knowledge of a sector that never stands still. But we're excited about the challenge and have some brilliant staff already in place to help us.

No big changes

Because we know Peter, Nicky and their team have done such a great job, we're not looking to make any big changes straight away. Instead we'd like to listen to our customers going forwards to understand what you're looking for in your local and slowly introduce new ideas if they're welcomed. So do continue to visit for your favourite pub grub and bring your family and four-legged friends - we are very much keeping the dog-friendly ethos of the pub, not least because our own pooch, Patch, can't wait to meet everyone. As you can see from the photo below, he has been in training for a long time to be the best pub dog he can be!

If you're local - please look out for an invitation through your door to drinks and nibbles so we can say hi and meet you all.