It may be mid-January, traditionally the month where the licenced trade struggles but this hasn’t stopped people heading out to The Junction in Stretton. The pub first opened in 2018 and recently changed hands last November.
“My locals tell me that they are seeing so many new faces in here,” confirms Fraser Chatburn who runs the place with his wife Karen. “I was going to drop from six hand pulls to four but as you can see I haven’t, there aren’t many pubs in the area that have this many cask beers available at one time.”
On the bar sits a Bass water jug, produced in 1977 to commemorate the opening of the Bass Museum and the bicentennial of the brewery.
“That’s there because it was Bass that first brought me to Burton 29 years ago,” says Fraser explaining the significance. “I ran pubs for Whitbread in the South-East and after gaining a degree at Stafford Uni, I worked for Bass in Burton for ten years.”
Fraser had been looking for a pub for a good while: “I made enquiries about the Alfred and then found The Junction was up for grabs. I used to come in here pre-COVID with an elderly neighbour, it has easy access and wide doors for the toilet etc.”
The Junction used to be a Blythe Brewery house and although now free of tie the Ruby Mild remains a permanent fixture.
“It’s a cracking 5% and we go against the grain at The Junction as the locals love dark beer, it’s our best seller at two and a half firkins a week. We also have stouts and porters on from Shiny, Front Row and Collyfobble.
“I want to keep my purchasing local for ales and lagers. Ciders are from Yoxall and Ashover and gins are from Nelson’s in Uttoxeter! We have a permanent gluten free and vegan friendly lager which is Thornbridge’s Lukas and one hand pull is dedicated gluten free.”
So far, the pub has sold beer from local brewers: 3P’s Brewery, Front Row Brewing, Little Brewing Company, Leatherbritches Brewery, Heritage Brewing Company, Mr Grundy’s Brewery, Brunswick Brewing Company, Lymestone Brewery, Shiny Brewery, Thornbridge, Collyfobble Brewery and of course Blythe Brewery.
Fraser and Karen have made a few changes, the pub is now open seven days a week due to demand, from 16:30 during the week and 12:00 at weekends and they are doing cold food throughout the week, with hot roast potatoes at Sunday lunch, there’s also a monthly quiz he hopes will prove popular.
“We celebrated Burn’s Night, or should that read Chatburn’s Night, by having haggis on the bar,” laughs Fraser.
And if he wasn’t busy enough building up his new business, Fraser is also the organiser of Tap Into Tutbury and is in the early stages of planning the second event which will take place 15th to 18th May. He has approached the venues from last year and thinks he has a few extra on board for 2025 making a total of ten, it is anticipated that it’ll be bigger and better than last year.
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