A pub at the heart of the Astley Bridge community is set to officially reopen today following its temporary closure.

The landlord at The Bay Mare on Blackburn Road, made the decision to close on Monday due to staff shortages.

Landlord Marcus Cooper says that himself and the staff are looking forward to opening again, and says the decision to close was not made lightly.

He has apologised for the inconvenience and thanked those in the community who helped out this week.

Speaking to The Bolton News Marcus said: “We are reopening today, myself and all the staff are looking forward to opening the doors, after all the Covid restrictions it’s a terrible decision to have to close, but sometimes your health and the health of your staff has to come first.

The Bolton News: Outside the Bay MareRead our top stories below:

“We are very sorry about any inconvenience caused but are sure that people will be understanding.

“We have a free pool table tomorrow for those who missed out this Monday and can’t wait to get back into the rhythm of things.

“Also, a massive thank you to everyone who reached out and offered their help this week, it was nice to see so much support from the community.”

Marcus prides himself on keeping the pub at the heart of the community by helping those he can.

The Bolton News: He has been running the pub for four years, and has introduced a range of activities, including free pool games, a free jukebox on a Friday, a DJ on the last Saturday of the month, and charity events.

The building used to be three cottages and was built in the 1800s.

The pub is all stone and is a grade 2 listed property.

Arthur and Joyce were the longest standing landlord and landlady and were at the pub for around 40 years.

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