December 31, 2021 2.16 pm This story is over 27 months old

Popular Lincoln live music pub reopens with new landlords

They will bring live music back in 2022!
Brett Morrison and Stacey Whitehead are the new landlord and landlady at The Tap & Spile in Lincoln.

A popular pub in Lincoln well known for live music has reopened with a new landlord and landlady, who hope to bring the venue back to its former glory.

Brett Morrison, 23, and his partner Stacey Whitehead, 28, owned The Strad in Sheffield for eight months before taking the leap and moving to a new city to take over The Tap & Spile on Hungate in Lincoln.

After visiting the pub, and falling in love with the city, they decided it was definitely the challenge for them and took over the ownership of the Stonegate Group pub earlier this month.

The pub closed back in 2018 before reopening in February of the following year when Adam Kay took over the reigns with his brother Matthew. Then in October 2019, The Tap & Spile shared a post on Facebook from the pub’s manager Harry Blackadder telling customers it would close in October 2019. The pub did reopen again but closed in October 2021 when the previous tenants left.

Brett, who grew up in pubs and used to work in construction, and Stacey, a former care worker for the elderly, have taken the pub on a one-year lease. They took over the lease only a few months after the pub had a £40,000 refurb in the autumn.

The couple are determined to make their tenure a big success after opening for the first time on December 22 this year.

Inside The Tap & Spile in Lincoln.

They told The Lincolnite: “We decided to take a different leap. We came and visited the pub and it is in a lovely area and the city centre seemed really nice. We wanted to take a chance and a new challenge, it felt right.

“It’s a good feeling, but it would be better with more customers and we want to let more people know that the pub is back open again. It has been great seeing customers come in and hopefully more people will start coming in after the new year. We want to be a friendly landlord and landlady and make everyone feel welcome.”

The Tap & Spile on Hungate in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The couple added they are keen for live music to return to the pub in 2022 and any artists looking to perform should contact them on 07723 393621. They also want to introduce student nights, bingo, games nights, live entertainment and more, as well as a pool table and a juke box.

Brett and Stacey are also planning to reopen in the kitchen next year to bring a food offering back to the Tap & Spile.