'It’s the same Polished Knob they remember from before' - Popular Calderdale pub and venue reopens with new owners

The Polished Knob in Todmorden closed in January, with the building up for sale.

Building owners and former owners of the business Chris and Claire Hartley decided it was time to move on and are hoping to relocate to Costa Rica.

Chris said: "I’m 57 and it’s time for Claire and I to slow it down.

“I hadn’t felt pressed to push the business further forward and decided it was time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it.

"I hope the two new guys take to the place like I did.

“It seems to have caused a little stir round the town since it’s been back – ‘thank God they’re open again’.”

Pub owner Craig Isaac has taken over the Knob as tenant with Ryan Orton as landlord.

Ryan said there aren’t any big changes planned and the team are looking forward to giving customers more of what they come to love over the bar’s 14 years.

He said: “It’s a case of getting every part of the business working great, one of the after other. So I’m focusing on music and the bar to start with.

"Getting back to the heart of the community, which it very much is.

"Chris and Claire have done a very good job of making it the heart and soul of the community and that’s how I want it to stay.

"There’s no point in changing anything drastically when the first day we reopened most of the town was in and excited to see it back open.

"People will see it’s the same Knob they remember from before and everybody has just fallen back into place.”

Among 15 pubs, Craig owns the Maypole Inn at Warley and previously ran the Duke of York in Shelf and the Shoulder of Mutton in Mytholmroyd.

He said the unique, colourful decor inside the pub and its loyal customer base meant it was a difficult opportunity to pass up.

He said: "As soon as we reopened everyone came straight back.

“For me it’s about seeing opportunity. We really loved the place and said we’d feel more comfortable taking on a lease since we don’t know the area and pub well yet.

"We don’t need to change much, we’ll just give it two or three months for Ryan to settle and to find our feet before we think about where to go from there.”

After the pandemic Chris downsized the operation to focus on one of the central attractions of the pub – live music.

But in the coming months Ryan and Craig are looking to reopen the kitchen and the five ensuite hotel rooms upstairs.

Craig also intends to buy the building from Chris.

Outgoing boss Chris added: “I hope they do well. We looked at one or two other pub companies but I didn’t trust them with it.

“So fingers crossed it continues. What me and Claire feel we’ve created is a certain something here and we want that something to continue.”