Rodney Fitch & Co drinks to Noble House pub chain

Rodney Fitch & Co and Tony Thomas Interiors have created interior design concepts for Noble House Pub Company, which has pumped £500 000 into the design of 140 pubs across the UK.

Two consultancies, Briscoe 5th Dimension and WPA Pinfold, are working on the branding of the pubs, including exterior signage.

Designs will roll out from January 2002 and are expected to take 17 months to complete.

Noble House Pub Company acquired 214 pubs from Scottish & Newcastle in July and will complete the purchase of the pubs from Whitbread in December. It will sell some pubs but continue to buy others in more suitable locations, according to Noble House Pub Company managing director Tony Carson.

It will open 50 city centre pubs, with interiors by Rodney Fitch & Co. It will also open 25 pubs in out-of-town locations, with interiors by Tony Thomas Interiors.

‘The city centre pubs will take the traditional pub format. They will have a deli menu offer and be somewhere between a traditional pub and a style bar. The out-of-town pubs will have a more contemporary feel,’ says Carson.

The out-of-town venues will be food-led, he adds. ‘We will have 65 bistro pubs in suburban locations but the focus will be on drinking.’

‘Customers are looking for a style of pub and bar environment that is different from the uninspiring interiors of big brands. They seek a blend of contemporary and tradition and we will be looking to satisfy that demand,’ Carson says.

Rodney Fitch & Co has also been charged with creating a brand identity for the deli food offer, which will be applied to menus.