Food back on the menu at Northampton pub and music venue

Liz has started serving food again with help from Micky's Cafe - who now has set up home in the Kingsthorpe pub.

Liz Cox relaunched The Old Five Bells and has since reaped the rewards after changing the face of her pub from a restaurant to an entertainment venue.

The mum-of-four took on the Harborough Road struggling nightspot last May after returning to Kingsthorpe following a stint working in Lanzarote where she ran a comedy drag show.

Liz came back to her hometown after eight years with just four suitcases, and a year later she had her own pub.

Liz has been landlady for 17 months now.

And when Liz, who has only worked in the night time economy, took over the venue she decided to scrap serving food altogether.

The unique selling point of the Old Five Bells and Entertainment Venue is the function room, she said, which can be hired out free of charge to 150 people.

But as of August this year she introduced food back to the pub with a helping hand from Mickey's Cafe.

Liz decided to tell the Chronicle & Echo this month now the new cook from Mickey's Cafe, who is operating as an independant business to the pub, has found his feet.

Mickey's Cafe who has been serving up grub in St James for nine years, near the Thomas Beckett pub.

After moving out of St James in August he has found a new home for his kitchen in the back room of the Kingsthorpe pub - a room which acts as a music venue in the evenings.

"We have put a lot of hard work into it," Liz said. "Me and Mickey's partner are friends and we decided he was going to come into the pub and use the back room, so that back room is now a cafe as well as a music venue.

"We have since had new faces coming in all the time.

Every weekend the watering hole hosts a live music event but Liz sees it becoming a popular Motown venue.

It comes as DJ Phatbloke and Mick Murphy, who has been in the Motown business for 50 years in Northampton, have both started playing one Sunday a month respectively.

People are now taking trips from Nottingham, Manchester and Poole to see acts at her pub.

"People meet each other in here who haven't seen each other for years," Liz added. "It's a great crowd."

Food is being served (at the moment) from Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm while on Saturday and Sunday food is served between 10am to 2pm.