Wetherspoons to open supersized pub with a huge beer garden

JD Wetherspoons will spend £5million on creating its first-ever supersized pub location.

The idea has been in the works since 2018 and includes plans to construct a 26-bedroom hotel among other enticing facilities.

No new pub will be built to house the mega-boozer, but rather come from an expansion of the Mile Castle Wetherspoons in Newcastle.

Work started yesterday to expand the pub, located on Westgate Road and Grainger Street, which is already one of the largest in the area.

The Mile Castle is expected to double in size and gain the chain’s first Newcastle hotel next door, plus a 3,000-square-foot outdoor space.

A full interior refurbishment will be included in the development, extending to new carpet, improved lighting and an extended third-floor bar.

Additionally, a brand new cellar will be created to match the multi-level plans in the beer garden, which will feature a terrace and patio area.

According to Wetherspoons bosses, the hotel rooms will all be complete with an en-suite and include two specially designed rooms for guests with disabilities.

‌A Wetherspoons spokesman revealed that the hotel is being built in an adjoining building, formerly the home of law firm Samuel Phillips. It was also the former home of Dr C J Gibb, who was immortalised in The Blaydon Races.

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “The investment highlights our commitment to the pub, its customers and staff, as well as the city of Newcastle.

“The Mile Castle is an extremely popular pub and we are confident that our customers will welcome the work being undertaken in the pub as well as the creation of our first hotel in the city.”

Until the new hotel is opened, the nearest Wetherspoon hotel to Newcastle locals is in Whitby, The Angel Hotel. It’s one of just 55 hotels owned by the famous pub chain across “Britain and Ireland’s coastal, countryside and city locations”.

Each of the hotels, which are situated above or near a Wetherspoon pub serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, has its unique character, with many in restored historic buildings.

The new hotel at the Mile Castle will be run by an army of 200 staff; 130 are already employed at the pub and will be joined by 70 full, and part-time workers to launch the “super spoons” at the end of summer.

There is some bad news for fans of the Mile Castle, however, as the boozer will be closed for the summer months.

The pub will lock its doors from June 24 until its re-opening day on September 3, while the hotel is expected to open its doors on Tuesday, November 12.