The landlord of The Crown Hotel in Alton has been looking back on his 30 years of running the High Street pub and hotel.
It closed its doors on February 11 because 70-year-old Steve Austen decided to step back from the business for health reasons.
But he is confident that the hostelry opened in 1525 will soon be open again to continue celebrating its 500th birthday.
Steve recalled that the chance to run the Crown occurred while he was already in the licensed trade.
He said: “We were running a business called the C’est La Vie wine bar when the Crown came up in 1995. It had been unoccupied for three months and had squatters.
“It stayed shut while me and my colleague Ricky Warren refurbished it. We converted it into 15 letting rooms, two long-term lets and chalets at the back, with en-suites.
“We worked really hard and had a couple of managers in. Katie Collingborn, our landlady, has been here 23 years and built the business up. She has a very strong following and I believe the golf clubs and wine clubs will be coming back when it re-opens.”
Steve said the Crown had continued to thrive despite some of the challenges thrown at it in the last three decades.
He continued: “We survived the smoking ban and had a good clientele. The business in those days included drinking at lunchtimes, pool teams, darts teams - it was a traditional pub.
“We kept on refurbishing it. We had a dreadful accident in 2015 with a cave-in, we got over that. We got over Covid and the business was ok, but the spec of the business had changed - we don’t get as busy on the wet sales as we used to.
“I have health problems now - I’m 70 and have a heart condition - so I have decided to step away. I’ve had a couple of offers and hopefully Katie and the crew will be back in the not too distant future.
“Thirty years is a long time. My mother worked here as a barmaid in the late 1960s and early 1970s so the Crown has been in our family psyche for many years.
“It’s been my privilege and honour, with my colleagues, to run the pub for those 30 years.”