Meet the 'excited' new landlady reopening a prominent pub in Northampton town centre this weekend

The Mailcoach in Derngate is set to reopen under new management this Friday (October 30) at 4pm, with live music to kick things off.

The Stonegate pub suddenly closed its doors in July. Four months later, Leah Stock is taking over the reins as landlady.

Having first started work at the age of 14 washing pots, the 26-year-old has worked her way up in the industry over the past 12 years, managing venues across the town, including The Barratts.

However, this is her first solo venture. Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo, Leah said: “I'm excited. It's a big statement site. Now I know the vision, I'm relieved and just excited for opening now.”

On what drew her to the venue, she said: “I just kind of fancied a bigger challenge. I wanted to take something on, almost make it my own a little bit.

“The most important thing to me here is still continuing everything that it's always been doing. So, music, bottomless brunches, but kind of almost just make it my own a little bit and try and enhance what they already had.”

On reopening a prominent venue in the town as a local, Leah said: “This is why it was so crucial to me to not come in here and almost change the dynamics of how this place worked. I know it was live music, I know it was sports, I know that it was bottomless brunches, and that's what people loved about the place. So why change what works?”

She added: “We need things open. We need pubs open, we need pubs trading, we need pubs thriving, because otherwise what are people really going to do? You lose your social aspect, you lose your entertainment on a weekend.”

On how she plans to make it her own, Leah said: “I've had quite good connections within the live music scene. I've got quite a lot of bands that might not typically have played Northampton. So it's bringing in new bands, new music, new faces. Yeah, so that's kind of where I'm aiming for.”

The pub will serve breakfast and roast dinners alongside its main menu and has a brand-new cocktail menu.

Bottomless brunch bookings are also a big part of the venue and are already available for £33 per person for 90 minutes. The pub will also offer themed bottomless brunch parties, featuring themes such as the 1980s and 1990s, as well as singers, on Saturday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm.

Asked about running a pub and the challenges it brings in the current climate, she said: “Once you kind of sit down, break it down and look at it in pieces rather than as a whole, it's not as scary, as long as you just sort of organise your costs well.”

On getting people through the door, she said: “A lot of social media marketing. I'm quite fortunate, obviously, I've been in the pub trade in Northampton for a while. So hopefully just a recognisable, friendly face should also help. And then trying to bring new things into The Mailcoach should bring people in.”

On Saturday night, there will be a vinyl DJ. She said: “He's pretty cool. It'll be live music, launching all the new menus. The kitchen will be open, so everyone can try all the new food.”