Star opens The Unicorn in Cardiff its biggest single investment in the UK ever

Star Pubs & Bars has completed its biggest single investment in the UK this year, a £1.4m upgrade of The Unicorn in Cardiff.  The opening of its flagship pub in Wales brings the company’s investment in Wales in the last month to £1.75m and its investment in Wales in the last three years to in excess of £4m.

Other projects include a £200,000 revamp and garden makeover of The Talbot in Talbot Green, Llantrisant. Now a premium local, it opened at the end of September with trade exceeding expectation.  Another village pub, The Newborough Arms, Bontnewydd, also opens this week following a joint £200,000 investment with Steven Hughes, licensee of 

The Crown in Caernarfon.  

Star Pubs & Bars is keen to invest a further £730,000 in Wales at The Blacksmith’s Arms, Llantwit Major and The Holybush, Lower Machen subject to recruiting the right operators.

The Unicorn is in a fantastic location with no local competition.  Closed for five years, it has been transformed into a Just Add Talent managed operator pub.

The revamped pub now has a fantastic garden room with sharing tables and chef’s table for dining with bi-fold doors onto the terrace, a lounge/dining area and a relaxed locals’ bar.

Outside there’s a choice of seating on the new terrace in timber booths or at high tables as well as picnic benches and parasols at the front.

The menu at The Unicorn will consist of traditional pub favourites. Food will be good quality but reasonably priced and there will be a special menu for children.

The drinks will include cocktails and a wide selection of premium wines, spirits, beers as well as cask and craft ales, Heineken 0.0 and all-day barista style coffee. As part of the upgrade the latest dispense technology which improves the quality and consistency of draft beer and cider, is being installed. 

New operator, Gemma Morgan says: “I’ve been helping out in my parents’ pubs since I was 15. Hospitality is in my blood.  Taking The Unicorn on a managed operator agreement gives people like me who haven’t got a financial background or resources the opportunity to do so.”

Says Lawson Mountstevens, Managing Director of  Star Pubs & Bars “We’re delighted to have brought The Unicorn back to life – it’s now a stunning pub inside and out and is our flagship pub in Wales.

“With so much housing on its doorstep, local offices and a retail park nearby and no other pubs in the vicinity, the area is crying out for a pub like The Unicorn, which offers something for everyone.  The news of its reopening has so delighted residents that the church bell ringers are ringing the bells to celebrate its opening day. It will become the beating heart of the community, a place where residents can come together.  It is also in walking distance for many, which plays into trends for people wanting to socialise locally.

“The Unicorn brings the investment that we have made in Wales in the last three years to over £4 million and demonstrates our commitment to the Welsh economy.”