A COUPLE with more than 15 years’ experience in hospitality have taken over the running of a North Yorkshire pub.

Alastair and Claire Ross of the renowned Oak Tree Inn, in Hutton Magna, Teesdale, are joining The Fleece, in Richmond, as head chef and general manager respectively.

For more than 15 years Mr and Mrs Ross ran the Oak Tree Inn which featured in both the Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide.

Since its closure, due to the building being re-developed into a private home, the husband and wife team have been looking for a new challenge and venture that matched their own very high standards of hospitality.

“We met the team at The Fleece and clicked straight away. We all share the same love of good quality, local food and providing a real experience for our customers” said Mr Ross.

“It’s a stunning building that has been transformed into an amazing location to enjoy good food and drinks.

“We can’t wait to bring our own ideas to the table and to say hello again to old customers and those we are yet to meet.”

Owner of The Fleece, Chris Miles, said: “In tough trading times for the hospitality sector, here at The Fleece we have constantly strived to bring a quality customer experience to the Town.

“We believe, with Ali and Claire now at the helm, the quality of our food offering coupled with our lovely bar and restaurant inside this historic building will provide our customers with an all-round excellent experience which we hope provides a reason for people to keep coming back time and time again. We are so excited that they are joining us."

The couple joined on Monday and began the roll-out of their take on The Fleece food and drinks offerings from Thursday of this week

The Fleece Hotel was taken over by Mr Miles, head of Delcon Construction, in May.

He was an early investor in the scheme to redevelop the Gothic building last year, led by Within Reach Developments. Within Reach went into liquidation and was forced to close The Fleece in December 2018,

The Fleece is open for breakfast and lunch Monday to Sunday and for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Call 01748-503104 to book.