The irresistible pong of a Bacon Butty

[www.midlandspubs.co.uk]

An entrepreneurial pub landlord at Burton-on-Trent has perhaps found a
way to both keep his pub afloat and save an important community
resource. Ben Brettell, landlord of the Wetmore Whistle, was seeing
his weekly turnover fall during the recession, an economic crisis that
saw the neighbouring newsagent’s shop close down. In a brave move to
turn things around, the publican converted a back room of his pub into
a paper shop. Cooked breakfasts are also served at the Wetmore
Whistle. He told local reporters that “the shop is not only making us
money but people are coming in to buy a paper, smelling the food, have
a bite to eat and often a pint.” On witnessing similar enterprises in
Kilkenny, the licensee added that “I went to a lot of pubs in Ireland,
and many of them would have a bar on one side and a sweet shop on the
other. You have to think outside the box or you will die.”