The Jolly Sailor begins a new voyage this month in the fleet of Bristol independent pub company Zazu’s Pubs.
The future of the popular Hanham High Street hostelry was put in doubt when Wetherspoons put it up for sale in 2022. There were fears that the prominent building might be snapped up for conversion to flats.
The pub shut in June and is being refurbished by Zazu’s, which also owns The Greenbank in Easton, The Knowle in Knowle, the Alma Tavern in Clifton, the Westbury Park in Henleaze and the Eastfield in Westbury on Trym.
The new owners were due to reopen the free house on August 30 and said food would be on offer from mid-September once the kitchen had been refitted.
In response to local demand, the Jolly Sailor will be the first Zazu’s pub to offer breakfast, although alcohol will not be served before 11am, as well as lunch and dinner.
In a post on social media, Zazu’s said: “Zazu’s Pubs are setting sail at the Jolly Sailor this month and we’re so excited to bring our brand of neighbourhood pub to Hanham High Street…. Come and see what we’ve done to the place.”
The company’s plans also include an upstairs events space that will be available for hire for private bookings and community events as well as staging music and comedy nights.
The pub’s name will not change. James Savage from Zazu’s told Bristol Live: “We did think about changing the name but it has been called the Jolly Sailor for about 160 years so in the end we thought there was no point really. Everybody knows the building as it’s a prominent landmark on the high street.
“Wetherspoons always open in interesting buildings and they have always tended to look after them. The Jolly Sailor is a large pub and it has been kept in really good nick over the years so we’ll just make a few changes in keeping with the Zazu’s style.
“I’m really excited about opening in Hanham, which is one of those areas that is changing as more people move away from the city centre. This pub has always been a community hub and that’s what we will make sure it continues to be.”