World’s first micropub saved from closure after customer buys it

By James Gamble

The world's first micropub has been saved from closure—after its founder of 20 years passed the reins across to one of his long-time regulars.

Martyn Hillier, who founded The Butcher's Arms in Herne, Kent, in 2005, recently opted to retire, with the building the pub is located in going up for sale.

The tiny, 17-square-meter pub was jeopardized by the sale of the building, with developers reportedly looking to buy the pub, located in a former butcher's shop.

However, heroic local Paul Monroe stepped up to buy the building and swap drinking pints for pouring them—thus saving The Butcher's Arms.

The 54-year-old, who also runs his own design and production company, took over earlier this month and has plans to open more often and tidy up the front—though he's promised Hillier, 66, the pub will remain mostly as it always has.

"This was the first micro pub in the world," father-of-two Monroe said.

"Just over 20 years ago, Martyn was running it as a takeaway bar and then opened it as a pub.

“It’s just a really nice environment, a very sociable place.

"I thought running the pub would be a great retirement job, but I’m not quite ready to retire yet.

“I’ve got my own business and I’m still doing that in the day, which is a bit of a challenge.

“But I will basically just go from drinking with my mates to serving them."

Hillier opened the micro pub in 2005, following a change in licensing laws that meant former shopfronts could be converted into drinking establishments.

Two decades on from The Butcher's Arms opening, more than 1,400 micropubs have followed suit and opened across the country, creating thousands of jobs in an industry estimated to now be worth millions.

On how taking over his local came about, Monroe, who moved to Herne six years ago and to Herne Bay in 1989, explained: "Martyn was running the pub downstairs and the guy who owned the building lived upstairs.

“He died a few years back and left the house to his nephew and niece, and they decided to sell it.

“We just hoped someone from the pub would buy it, but there was word that a developer wanted to buy it.

“So I started the process of buying the premises, and I took over earlier this month.

“Buying the building was the only way to save it.

“But I can’t go drinking four or five pints every night… That would be dangerous."

Hillier was only too glad to hand over the keys to his pub to a long-time regular, on the sole condition that it remains virtually untouched.

Though Monroe has taken on the running of the pub, he says plenty of other locals have stepped forward to offer their support.

“Eventually, we might do some bits and pieces,” Monroe continued, “but the pub stays as the pub.

“We might even add a little beer garden or something, and I’ll tidy up the front a bit.

“But it’s sort of an unwritten rule that the pub stays the same.

“Before I put an offer in, I wanted to check Martyn had definitely had enough. He’s just lost interest.

“He said: ‘You run it’.

“Nearly every regular has offered to help out if I need it, and I trust every single one of them.

“They’re great people.”

On what makes the pub great, Monroe added: "In the 20 years I’ve been drinking in there, I’ve never seen a fight or anything close to it.

“People are really interactive because they’re not on their phones.

“Because it’s real ale, the crowd is a bit older, but you do get some younger people in as well.

“I wouldn’t normally go into a pub on my own, but at The Butcher’s Arms, as soon as you sit down, people talk to you and you make friends instantly.

“I went down there to see what my locals were like when I first moved to the area, and have been going down regularly ever since.

“There’s no bar or anything; you all just sit in a giant circle. It works really well.

“No one seems to buy rounds. You just buy what you want—so you don’t have the person at the back who’s always late to buy their round."

Monroe has plans to open The Butcher's Arms more frequently, whereas it's currently only open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes.

Drinkers buy pints or jugs or two or four pints, to avoid having to ask the publican to get up and pour them another too often.