New landlords with 'big plans' take over well-known Northampton town centre pub 'packed with potential'

Leigh Dunbar, 43, and his son James have taken over The Fish pub in Northampton town centre and plan to breathe new life into it with live music, fresh food, and more.

Announcing the news on The Fish’s Facebook page, the pair wrote: “We've been lucky enough to take over the pub today and are very much looking forward to meeting all of you! We've got big plans for the pub and can't wait to get started! Please bear with us as we're settling in.

“The kitchen will be closed this week as we look to get a new menu up and running, where we can bring you a seven-day-a-week offering. We've got great plans for the kitchen and can't wait for you all to sample the new menu! Think pub classics, a fantastic Sunday roast and some beautiful specials.

“Keep an eye out on our socials for updates on the new menu and kitchen hours. We'll sign off for now and hope to meet as many customers, both new and old, over the next few weeks!”

Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo, Leigh revealed he also runs The Fox and Hounds in Stony Stratford, which has a 4.2 out of five-star rating from 500 Google reviews.

He said: “I’ve had the Fox in Stony for two years, and James has been with me in all of my pubs. It’s a very busy, music-orientated pub. So we’re going to try live music every week at The Fish. We want to make it a nice, busy, thriving pub. The aim is to get back to where it was. For us it’s a challenge, but we can see immediately there’s really good potential.”

He added: “Northampton’s a music town. There are really iconic music pub venues in Northampton, and we want to make this one of them as well.”

The pair also plan to introduce karaoke and quiz nights midweek, with live music at weekends.

Leigh said: “We’ll be looking to bring pool tables to the pub as well. We want to get students into the pub – I don’t think it’s got much of a student demographic now – so maybe a dedicated night or two a week for students. We’ll probably try and work with the Students’ Union to make that happen.”

He also hopes to give the garden a makeover and make some internal changes, adding that all the big plans should be in place by the New Year. The pub is still open for business.